Patient
hypnotized to overcome fear of MRI. The MRI-focused
ultrasound brain treatment from Israel’s Insightec is used at Haifa’s Rambam
Medical Center to cure patients of tremors. One of the patients was afraid of
being enclosed in the MRI machine. He underwent hypnosis therapy, had the
treatment and now he’s cured!

More good news
for Parkinson’s treatment. Israel’s NeuroDerm has
released positive preliminary results for the final Phase II trial of its
ND0612H treatment on 38 patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. NeuroDerm will now proceed with Phase III
trials on 240 patients prior to requesting CE (European) Certification.

Two awards for
NovellusDx. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
NovellusDx (see
Jun 2016) has received a $900,000 BIRD Foundation award to identify and
design personalized cancer therapies for the Delaware-based Gene Editing
Institute. NovellusDx also won 1st prize in the international Quality
Innovation Award competition.

Protecting surgeons from radiation.Israel’s RadiAction has
developed an innovative shielding device to protect surgeons from radiation.
Its technology will help increase in the number of image guided procedures
performed annually. RadiAction has just raised $5.7 million of funding.

New treatment
for ALS. Israel’s NeuroSense Therapeutics is
developing a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as
Lou Gehrig's disease. It is based on a discovery by Weizmann Institute Professor
Eran Hornstein of a micro-RNA molecule lacking in the muscles of ALS patients.

Human airbags
protect elderly from falls.(TY Hazel) Every year nearly 3 million
seniors suffer life-changing hip fractures from falls. Israel’s Hip-Hope is a
smart waist-belt that senses an impending collision with a ground surface and
deploys two large airbags instantly from each side of the belt to cushion the
hips.

National initiative
for food security.(TY Russell) I reported previously (Apr
24) the Colel Chabad prepaid credit card for needy Israeli families to use
to buy food with dignity. Now, the Israeli Government is adopting the scheme
and awarding NIS 500 per month to 10,800 families via the prepaid card.

Israeli tech to tackle disability.The video “Tackling
disability” is by Medill School of Journalism student Iacopo Luzi and The Times
of Israel. It features the founders of assistive technology startups, Sesame,
Listenapp and UpNRide, showing how their products can potentially help
thousands of people.

Helping special needs kids celebrate.600 youth volunteers for
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service entertained 70 special needs
children on Tu Bishvat – the Jewish New Year for trees. The program takes place
annually in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund.

First Israeli-Arab trainee IAF pilot.(TY IsraelSeen)
In a first-ever for the Holy Land, an Israeli Christian Arab has become an
Israeli Air Force (IAF) cadet. Israeli Arabs can volunteer for the IDF and the
new trainee pilot has just passed the required rigorous medical, physical and
mental abilities tests.

Arab leaders support National Service.Israeli-Arab MKs have for
the first time agreed to support a new civil national service program for Arab
students leaving high school. The program is similar to that performed by many
Jewish and Druze women who are able to work in hospitals or schools instead of
serving in the IDF.

SodaStream’s inclusive
packaging.SodaStream is a proud Israeli company, and keeps
its Israeli identity at a high profile. Its new packaging will include a picture
of the Israeli flag, accompanied by the caption: "This product is made by
Arabs and Jews working side by side in peace and harmony."

Canadian special needs trip to Israel.A group of 10 Canadian
adults with special needs went on a 10-day “Inclusion Journey to Israel” trip.
It featured not just the usual tourist sites, but also Access Israel’s Motek
Shel Teatron inclusion theater group, the Knesset Disability Rights Caucus and
even an archaeological dig.

Israelis in Ghana.A delegation of African
American journalists saw how Israeli development aid is helping Ghana. In Winneba
post-army Israelis teach children literacy and life skills; in Kumasi its early
childhood learning by playing; in Accra they see the cutting-edge Israeli-built
675-bed Ghana University Medical Center.

50% electricity from solar at Ramon
Airbase. (TY Atid-EDI) The
IDF is soon to inaugurate its largest solar project yet when it begins running
a solar farm, built by Israel’s Enlight Renewable Energy, at its Ramon Airbase.
The 16,000 solar panels will produce 5 MW - half of the base’s electricity.

A network from London
to Moscow.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s PacketLight Networks is partnering with Russia’s Avelacom to build out
their high-speed network from London to Moscow with PacketLight’s optical transport
solutions. The 1100 km long-haul network will provide speeds of 100G.

On the salad trail. Uri Alon is the founder and owner of the Salad Trail - the educational
food farm at Moshav Talmei Yosef.He
teaches about some of the amazing vegetables, fruit and herbs that Israel has
developed. Purple carrots, flying strawberries, edible flowers and, of course,
cherry tomatoes - all growing in the Israeli “desert”.Please also listen to the interview.http://thelandofisrael.com/purple-carrots-and-flying-strawberries/

Facebook Lite has 200
million active users.Facebook says its Israeli-developed Facebook
Lite app for low-end phones serves more than 200 million monthly active users
globally – double that of last year.The
app supports 55 languages and is popular in countries such as Brazil, India,
Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Currency reserves continue to rise.Israel’s foreign exchange
reserves at the end of Feb stood at $102 billion - an increase of $420 million
from their level at the end of Jan, and another all-time record.

Best-ever February for
Incoming Tourism to Israel.Latest statistics show this is the best ever
start to the tourism year in Israel. Between January and February 2017, 467,000
tourist entries were recorded, representing a 25% increase on the same period
in 2016.

Global Venture Capital slowdown – but
not in Israel. (TY Nevet) Venture capital investments in
Israel last year bucked the downward trend elsewhere because (a) realistic
values of Israeli companies; (b) Israel’s focus on frontier technologies; (c)
the growth in Israel of late stage funding rounds; (d) a new influx of Asian
capital.

Eilat to double in size.The Israeli city of Eilat is
to expand massively with the construction of 7,000 hotel rooms, 18,000 new
homes, industrial zones, an international sports center, municipal parks, and a
waste facility.

Flights to New Delhi.I reported previously (Nov
13) that Air India was commencing flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai.They have just announced a new service to New
Delhi, commencing in May. Air travel between India and Israel increased by
22.8% in 2016 to 158,000 passengers.

Tel Aviv Uni is a startup start-up.Accounting software giant
Sage has ranked Tel Aviv University eighth in the world for training the
founders of so-called unicorns - startup firms worth more than $1 billion. Tel Aviv
alumni have founded seven such companies, including ForeScout, ironSource and
Conduit.

Pension policy selection for Aviva
customers.Israeli
startup Hibob is developing a computer system for UK insurance giant Aviva,
whose market cap is $20 billion. The system allows small and medium-sized businesses
to simplify the establishment of a pension plan for their employees.

Life’s too short for a boring office.(TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Mindspace provides beautiful and inspiring office space for startups in prime
locations in Tel Aviv and Germany. Mindspace has just raised $15 million to
fund the opening of five new locations and expand within Europe and to the US.

Servotronix exits for $170 million. Chinese electronics giant Midea Group has acquired control of
Israel’s Servotronix at a company value of $170 million. Servotronix develops
automation solutions focused on motion control for robotics, printing, medical
equipment, renewable energy etc. Development will continue in Israel.

A vegetarian from India enjoys Israel. (TY Snapshots)
India’s food writer Pankaja Srinivasan gets a taste of many of the varieties of
bread available in Israel – and the diverse cultures that make them.

Gold for junior fencer.Israeli fencer Vera Kanevski
won a gold medal in the women’s epee competition at the European Junior
Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The 17-year-old overcame two opponents from
fencing powerhouse Italy before defeating Ukraine’s Inna Brovko 15-13 in the
final.

Team Israel wins World
Baseball openers.Underdogs Israel beat hosts Korea 2-1 in the tenth innings of the first
match of the World Baseball Classic.They
then went on to beat Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 15-7 in their next match and the
Netherlands 4-2 to reach the quarterfinals, top of their group.They then beat Cuba 4-1 in their first match
of the second-round stage. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qTYr6a42DnY?rel=0

1900-year-old Roman road discovered.Israeli archaeologists and
student volunteers have unearthed a 2nd-century road near Beit Shemesh that
connected the Roman settlement at Beit Natif with Jerusalem. Coins were also
found including from the Great Jewish Revolt in 67 CE and others from 29 CE and
41 CE.

Fixing a mezuzah to a biotech.Only in Israel - Rabbi
Yitzchak Ginsburgh fixed a new mezuzah at the new Jerusalem offices of Israeli
biotech NovellusDx. He also spoke about how vital it was to heal the sick.

It’s Purim.(TY Jacques) Whether it’s a gang of small
girls dressed like superheroes or a crew of grown men dressed as fairies, it’s
a clear sign that Purim is here, and the entire country is celebrating.

Proclaiming the Good
News.The
Founder and Editor of this newsletter was interviewed by Kevin Howard of the
Christian Friends of Israel.The program
was broadcast on 200 radio stations in the USA alone.You can listen to it here – Click on the following
link and then press [page down] to see the line “Proclaiming the Good News” and
then click on the green arrow.http://cfijerusalem.org/web/video/frontpage-jerusalem-radio

In the 5th Mar 17 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:

·Israeli
scientists have found a new method to fight deadly MRSA infections.

New way to fight MRSA. Researchers
at Israel’s Technion Institute have discovered unique amyloid fibrils used by
the deadly antibiotic resistant MRSA bacteria to attack the immune system. It
means treatments that inhibit the amyloid formation will neutralize MRSA.

Stopping
nerve cell death in the brain. Tel Aviv University Professor
Illana Gozes has made yet another discovery (see previous) about the
gene fragment NAP and its potential to treat Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
NAP stops abnormal Tau proteins from tangling the microtubules that maintain the
brain’s nerve cells.

Bionic implant
to restore sight. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Inomize has teamed up with Israel’s Nano-Retina to help build the tiny
integrated circuits (ASICs) for Nano-Retina’s Bio-Retina. The implant is designed
to restore sight to those suffering from retinal degenerative diseases such as
AMD.

Telescope eye
implant is FDA approved.(TY Untold
News) Non-cataract patients with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) who
cannot wait for the Nano-Retina implant (above) can already be fitted with the Israel-developed
Implantable Miniature Telescope from VisionCare.Trials are also starting shortly for
post-cataract patients.http://www.visioncareinc.net/posts/category/news/press-release

Robotic needle
is on the right path.The CT-scan version of the robotic needle
from Israel’s XACT (see
Aug 2015) has completed successful trials. XACT has signed an agreement
with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop further versions. It
has also raised another $5 million of funds.

Never forget
your meds. Israel’s Eximore is developing
ophthalmic treatment delivery products. The company has begun development of a
non-invasive punctal plug designed to release glaucoma treatments automatically
via the tear ducts, controlled over a long period of time. No need to remember
to apply eye drops.

Heart surgery saves another Afghan toddler.(TY The
Tower) I reported previously (twice) about Yehia – the
first Afghan child to receive life-saving surgery from Israel’s Save A Child’s
Heart.Now a second toddler, Yakub, has
been saved by SACH doctors after arriving from his remote Afghan village via
Kabul and Istanbul.

Hospital worker
delivers daughter’s baby. Ofra Grady saw thousands
of births, including 11 of her grandchildren, while cleaning the delivery rooms
at Israel’s Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. But she never expected to deliver
another grandchild in the family car while her husband was driving them to the
hospital.

Affordable new Tel Aviv apartments. Plans for Tel Aviv’s new Dov Neighborhood, to be constructed after
Sde Dov airport is vacated, includes 2,100 affordable apartments. Half of those
eligible for discounted housing will be local residents, who will benefit from
a discount of at least 50% on the cost of the housing.

Gluten-free food to be
more accessible.(TY Janglo)
Israel’s Health Ministry is making gluten-free food for celiac sufferers more
available.Grants will be given to Israeli
producers of non-gluten food and a subsidy will be offered to a manufacturer of
gluten-free flour. In addition, import regulations will be eased.

IDF launches women into hi-tech.For the first time, most of
the commanders of the IDF’s elite tech C4I communications corps are women.30% of students on their C41 programmers’ training
course are women. The IDF’s role of introducing women to hi-tech is crucial for
Israel’s continued economic success.

Israeli Arabs – integration not deprivation.Ambassador Yoram Ettinger
gives nine facts to emphasize the wish of Israeli Arabs to be part of the
Jewish State – and not to be linked with the Palestinian Arabs.

Israel hosts Forbes “under 30” Summit
again.Around
750 young entrepreneurs from 35 countries are to attend Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA
in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, from April 2nd to 6th. They will also attend a
cybersecurity event, a venture capitalist meeting, plus visit archeological
sites, the Dead Sea and Masada.

Green Tel Aviv University building
commended.World
Architecture News (WAN) made special mention of Tel Aviv University Porter
School of Environmental Studies’ Capsule Building in their annual awards for
ecological architectural design. It was commended as one of the 17 greenest
projects in the world.

The eighth great power of 2017.(TY Zev) Tiny Israel has
joined The American Interest magazine’s list of the world’s greatest powers for
the first time - at number 8. It praises Israel’s schools, policies, thinkers, startups,
entrepreneurs, technology, cybersecurity, irrigation, desalination, agri-tech
and even its pivotal political status.

4 Global Cleantech companies.(TY Nevet) Four Israeli companies were named
in the 2017 Global Cleantech 100. Israel’s BreezoMeter, Kaiima, TaKaDu, and
Netafim are among the top 100 companies picked (from a list of 9,900) by
Cleantech Group as poised to make significant market impact within a five- to
10-year timeframe.

Stay underwater for much longer.(TY Untold News) Israel’s Like-a-Fish has
re-invented the underwater breathing apparatus. Instead of carrying heavy
cylinders of compressed air, the innovative technology extracts the air from
the water as you go. Like-a-Fish is developing the air supply system for INOVA’s
ATLANTIS hydrofoil / submarine.http://www.likeafish.biz/

Microsoft use Israelis to find security
weaknesses.Cyber
professionals, hackers and other proud geeks convened in Tel Aviv at Microsoft’s
first BlueHat cybersecurity conference in Israel to tackle cybercrime. In
addition to presentations, there was a competition to break the security of a
nuclear reactor plant.

Rotating Dubai hotel –
designed by Israeli. (TY NoCamels)
Israeli architect David Fisher has designed Dubai’s 80-story Dynamic Tower
Hotel, due for completion in 2020. Hotel residents will be able to rotate their
rooms through 360 degrees, to either follow the sun or shade or change the view
endlessly or on demand.

What is moving the Universe?Researchers, led by Hebrew
University of Jerusalem’s Professor Yehuda Hoffman, have used 3D mapping of the
movement of galaxies, to find that our Milky Way galaxy is speeding away from a
huge, previously unidentified low density void that they have named the Dipole
Repeller.

Bringing flavor back to tomatoes. Scientists, including from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have
identified the flavor components that contribute to the delicious taste of
tomatoes. They will now breed those components back into the modern types of
tomatoes.

A solution to parking problems? (TY Janglo)
The Jerusalem Municipality has completed a pilot program to test the viability
of automated parking systems. Each Ferris-wheel-like unit in the Mesilat
Yesharim parking lot occupies two parking spots and provides 12-16 vertical
spaces in exchange.

Splitting water - more news.I reported previously (Apr
10) on the breakthrough by Israeli Technion scientists regarding the
efficient splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Now Weizmann
Institute scientists have made electrons spin in a way to avoid producing
hydrogen peroxide, which corrodes electrodes.

Waze to protect
wildlife.Just
in time for World Wildlife Day (Mar 3rd), Israeli drivers can now use the Israeli
Waze navigation app to report a dead animal on the side of the road. The
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel will then consolidate and
analyze the data to find solutions for providing safe passage for wildlife.

A biological model to count cyber
threats.Israel’s Ben Gurion University has teamed up with Singapore’s Nanyang
Technological University to fight advanced cyberthreats like the human body’s
immune system fights bacteria. The cyber-immune technology will utilize BGU’s
software and NTL’s hardware research expertise.

2017 Japan Prize winner.One of my cyber heroes, Professor
Adi Shamir of Israel’s Weizmann Institute has won a 2017 Japan Prize for his
pioneering work on cryptography. In 1977 Shamir, together with Ron Rivest and
Leonard Adleman invented the RSA public-key algorithm standard for data
encryption, valid even today.

$150 million for
environment tech.Chinese investment fund Blueconomy Center has raised $150 million for
investing in marine and environmental technologies in Israel. The fund aims to help
Israeli companies expedite their entry into the Chinese market and is in
advanced negotiations for investments in four Israeli companies.

Chinese car maker to open Israeli
R&D center.(TY Bennett) Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) will found
a Research & Development center in Israel for advanced auto technologies.
The center will focus on data networks, car sharing, and smart automated
propulsion.

More flights to Beijing.I reported previously (May
15) that Hainan Airlines of China started a three flights a week service
between Tel Aviv and Beijing.The route
is so popular that Hainan has now increased the frequency to five flights a
week for May and June.

1.2 billion downloads.I’ve reported previously (several times) on Israeli kids’
games publisher TabTable. In its six years, it has become one of the leading
children's games companies in the Apple and Google apps stores with 1.2 billion
downloads of its software.

Bet Shemesh engines gets $37 million
boost.Bet
Shemesh Engines has won a $37 million extension to its 2016 $69 million deals with
Spanish company Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP Group). ITP is owned by UK engine
giant Rolls Royce and is participating in a General Electric engine upgrade
project.

LightCyber exits for $130 million. I reported previously (3 times) on Israel’s
LightCyber and its ability to detect cyber-attacks using behavioral analytics.
It has just been acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $130 million, becoming the
US company’s second Israeli acquisition after buying Cyvera in 2014 for $200
million.

Sounds of the Old City.(TY Janglo)
The fifth annual Sounds of the Old City festival, will be held from Mar 20 – 23
in the Old City of Jerusalem. Musical bands and ensembles will perform music unique
to each of the four Old City quarters.http://en.sounds-of-jerusalem.org.il/

New Rothschild-Allenby Market in Tel
Aviv.(TY Janglo)
A new covered market has opened in Tel Aviv at the corner of Rothschild
Boulevard and Allenby Street. It specializes in culinary stalls featuring Israeli
beer, South African sandwiches, local catch of the day, and Japanese ramen
dishes.

Israel just might have the world’s best
restaurant scene.(TY Nevet) Nice article
praising Israeli restaurants. The writer went with food writers, star chefs and
the organizers of Round Tables, a culinary festival that paired Israel’s top
chefs with 13 international luminaries. (But spot the error about meat at
kosher restaurants.)

Modest Fashion Day.(TY Janglo)
Jerusalem’s "Modest Fashion Day" was Israel's first major fashion
show for Orthodox Jewish women who require conservative outfits. Israeli models
hit the catwalk in front of hundreds of Orthodox women and fashionistas, wearing
long sleeves and dresses down to their ankles.

Support Israel – wave the flag.Harry Goldstein of North
London Friends of Israel (NLFoI) says that the way to support the Jewish State
is to be visible.NLFoI members stand in
busy shopping streets or local festivals, with leaflets, literature and Israeli
flags. They make a strong statement - that they are ordinary, local people.

Bus driver returns
lost $20,000 to owner.(TY Janglo)
Haifa Egged bus driver Ataf Tatur found a wallet containing $20,000 in a bag left
on his bus.Ataf and the Egged branch
director called the owners who came to collect the bag.An Egged spokesperson said "This is the
accepted norm in Egged, and it is what we expect from those behind the
wheel". http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/225739

In the 26th Feb 17 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:

Co-operating
to study cancer.Researchers from Israeli and Palestinian Arab hospitals together found risk
factors for B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Studying 823 patients with the disease
from both communities, plus a similar number of healthy controls, they found
genetic, environmental, lifestyle and medical links.

Life-saving prize. Israel's national volunteer emergency medical services
organization, United Hatzalah, received the Jerusalem Prize for excellence in
lifesaving. It was awarded in honor of the 3,200 volunteer Emergency Medical
Technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and doctors, who work with the organization.

Bacteria sleep
to evade antibiotics.Biophysicists from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem have found that bacteria go dormant to prevent being killed by
antibiotics.This process also helps the
bacteria develop faster resistance and suggests that resistance can be prevented
by targeting dormant bacteria with separate treatments.

Detecting
vertebral fractures.(TY Atid-EDI) Yet
another diagnostic algorithm from Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision.This time its machine and deep learning Imaging
Analytics engine will be able to detect compression fractures from uploaded
scans and also identify people at risk of subsequent osteoporotic fractures.

Discovery can help
diagnose dyslexics.(TY Avivit) Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have discovered
that dyslexics have a shorter implicit memory than non-dyslexics. On hearing a
sound repeated sometime later, dyslexics failed to recognize it.The findings pave the way to early diagnosis
and intervention.

16 Palestinian Arab children can hear for the first time.Dr. Michal Kaufmann of
Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital performed cochlear implant surgery on
16 Palestinian Arab deaf and mute children to allow them to hear for the first
time in their lives.She performed six of
the operations in just one month.

European approval
for pain monitor.(TY Atid-EDI)
I reported previously (May 2015) on the pain measurement device developed by
Israel’s Medasense Biometrics.The
innovative PMD200 has now received CE approval, allowing physicians to assess
and manage pain for patients who cannot communicate.

Transmitters for elderly patients.The Yad Sarah organization
will provide distress transmitters to all elderly hospital patients living in
geriatric nursing institutions. The transmitters will notify Yad Sarah headquarters
around the clock if the patient falls or is shaken by someone.

Inclusive Supreme
Court judges.The judges chosen to serve on Israel’s Supreme Court of Justice include
George Kara, a Christian Arab who replaces Christian Arab Justice Salim Joubran
who retires after serving since 2003. And Yael Vilner is the first orthodox
Jewish woman to get a permanent seat on the Supreme Court.

The first Druze Arab female news
presenter.Ghadir
Kamal Meriach from the Israeli-Druze-Arab village of Daliat al-Carmel made
history as the first woman from Israel’s Druze community to present the news on
Israeli TV. Since 2011, she presented the main news broadcast on Channel 1’s Arabic-language
channel.

A day with Syrian children in an Israeli
hospital.Wounded
Syrian children and their relatives were told Israel is as bad as Satan. But at
Ziv Medical Center, Issa - an Arab Israeli - is their constant companion as the
children are treated by Israeli physicians. "I was afraid of the
Jews," a child says. "Now I'm not afraid at all."

Arab journalists praise Israel (sort of). Egyptian journalists writing for the al-Mizri, al-Yom,
and al-Aharam newspapers said Israel's successes in invention and science were an
embarrassment to the entire Arab world.

Israel is back in all Africa.Togolese Foreign Minister
Robert Dussey formally invited Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to Togo in
October.West Africa’s Togo is the venue
for the Africa-Israel summit for hi-tech, communications, agriculture and
security, which is to be attended by approximately 20-25 African leaders.

The US and Israel – “A new day”.The Israeli PM and US
President are to setup joint teams to upgrade relations between Israel and the
US in all of the main areas: Security, intelligence, cyber, technology,
economics and many others.

And finally,
Australia.The first-ever visit by a serving Israeli Prime Minister to Australia
was notable for the warm welcome given by Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull and
the Jewish community. Both PMs and 2000 guests attended Sydney’s Central
Synagogue. Direct flights between the two countries are now being planned.

The largest-ever energy project in
Israel. The partners of the Leviathan natural gas
reservoir have announced that they will invest $3.75 billion in its development.
The three-year project constitutes both the largest energy project and largest financial
investment in Israel’s history and secures its energy future.

Jerusalem’s Old City installs Wi-Fi.Jerusalem is installing free
wi-fi into all four quarters of the Old City to benefit millions of tourists,
merchants and residents. The pilot near Jaffa Gate and the Christian Quarter
will be rolled-out to the entire Old City, adding to existing free wi-fi in the
German Colony and Ben Yehuda street.

The writing is on the … windscreen!I reported previously (Aug
30) that Israel’s Liquid Crystal Glass (LCG) developer Gauzy had been
selected for Mercedes-Benz’s AutoBahn Accelerator program. Gauzy presented its
LCG message projection prototype to 1200 people at the Accelerator’s Expo Day in
Stuttgart. Hundreds of Daimlers will now be fitted with the technology.

Helping to simplify US passport
procedures.Israel-based startup Insights.US is using its crowd-consulting software
to help reform US passport issuing process. The US Government engaged Insights
to ask the public about how to simplify its on-line procedures and improve accessible.
Nearly 1000 responses were received.

Improving African staple crops.Thanks to a $6.1 million
grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center, one of the world’s largest independent plant science
institutes, has selected Israel’s NRGene to advance the breeding of staple African
crops such as grain sorghum.

Pocket-sized flying
camera.This
is so cool - the ultimate in smartphone photo-capture. Israel’s SELFLY
is a $100 pocket-sized remote camera for your phone that you send up into the
air to capture amazing aerial photos. It reached its $125,000 crowdfunding goal
in just 5 days and now is close to raising half a million dollars.

An Israeli camera in every smartphone?(TY Atid-EDI) When I
reported on Israel’s Corephotonics in May
2014 its innovative dual camera technology hadn’t attracted major
smartphone manufacturers.However,
latest investors include Samsung Ventures and Foxconn (makers of Apple’s
iPhone). I think we’re getting the picture!

Honda and Volvo open joint Israeli
innovation center.(TY Bennett) Honda, Volvo, Hertz and Israeli telematics company Ituran
are to launch a new Israeli transportation innovation center in Tel Aviv.
Startups and entrepreneurs will also benefit from the innovation hub DRIVE and
Honda’s Xcelerator program.

Competition for Negev startups.The SilicoNegev startup
competition aims to stimulate Negev development by offering the winning startup
an investment of up to NIS 500,000. The organizers want to help “implement the
excellent ideas created in the Negev, and bring advanced technological
solutions to the entire world.”

Microsoft catches up with Illusive
Networks.I’ve reported previously (twice) about Israeli cybersecurity
startup Illusive Networks that deceives hackers by laying traps of false data.
Illusive has just received a strategic investment by Microsoft Ventures to help
development, marketing and global expansion.

Enjoy your Jaffa Orri mandarins.(TY Liat) Thanks to an early
start to the season, exports of Israel’s Jaffa Orri Mandarins are on track to increase
from 60,000 metric tonnes in 2016 to 100,000 this year.Good Israeli harvests contrast with poor
weather in Europe. The Israeli crop is expected to soar even further by 2020.

Strengthening English teaching.(TY Janglo)
In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education, Masa Israel Journey is to bring
300 overseas graduates to Israel to teach English as a Second Language. It is
part of Masa’s Teaching Fellows program. Participants are paid to teach, plus
volunteer on programs to learn Israeli culture.

UK Press Association invests in Wochit.(TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Wochit enables newsrooms, editorial teams and social media editors to capture
and expand audience attention through the power of video. It has just received
a strategic investment from PA Group - parent company of the Press Association
for UK and Ireland.

Success in measuring
success.(TY
Atid-EDI)
Israel’s AppsFlyer allows mobile advertisers to see how well (or badly) their
latest campaign performed from any source (e.g. Facebook, email etc.)The software has been installed on 98% of all
smartphones – 2.1 billion devices. AppsFlyer has just raised $56 million of
funds and its business is flying! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9rzspOIj28

Is this startup into money-laundering?Israeli startup Kvishi’s on-demand
laundry pickup and delivery app is expanding fast and was concerned about its
lack of funds.It then turned to its
customers with whom it sharing dirty laundry with and the equity crowdfunding
campaign has already raised about $150,000.

Baby mandrill saved.At Ramat Gan safari, Israeli
zookeepers nursed a weak newborn mandrill back to life and reunited him with
Tinkerbell - his mother. The mandrill species is classified as vulnerable in
the wild.

Win a holiday at a 5-star hotel in a
lifeguard tower.A lifeguard tower on Tel Aviv’s Frishman Beach is being converted into a
luxurious 5-star hotel. The winner of a photo competition will be flown to Tel
Aviv for a 4-night break, including one night at the hotel with a personal
butler. Afterwards, the hotel reverts to a lifeguard station for the summer
season.http://nocamels.com/2017/02/tel-aviv-lifeguard-tower-hotel/

Israel soccer team blooms in the desert.Although soccer team Hapoel
Beer Sheva was eliminated at the final stages of the Europa League, it is still
top of the Israeli National League. The club is owned by Alona Barkat - the
only woman to own a professional soccer team in Israel, and known as “The
Princess of the Desert”.

The 400-year-old foundation of US-Israel
ties.Ambassador
Yoram Ettinger describes how the unshakable social, cultural, legal and
political bonds between the US and Israel are cemented on a long history of
America’s recognition of Jewish religious leaders, texts and Judeo-Christian
values.

The largest-ever Aliya
fair. (TY Janglo)
Nefesh B’Nefesh is holding its annual Israel Aliya Mega Event on Sun 26 Feb at John
Jay College in Manhattan. Some 1,500 potential Olim are expected to attend,
making it the biggest Aliya event of its kind. Additional Aliyah Fairs will be
held in Toronto, Montreal and Los Angeles.

Israeli eye surgeon is Iraqi’s last chance.Top Israeli surgeon Dr Ygal
Rotenstreich of Sheba Medical Centre flew to the UK in a last-ditch attempt to
save the sight of an Iraqi father-of-seven. The Iraqi stayed anonymous but was
told in Turkey that Israel is at the cutting-edge of optical medicine. The
appointment was made in London. http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/israeli-dr-iraqi-official-sight/

Volunteer EMT’s record 236 calls. Avraham Levi is a self-employed entrepreneur who works full time, has
a wife and two children and volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
with United Hatzalah. This past month in January, Levi broke records when he
responded to 236 emergency calls in just one month.

One of the best countries for families.I reported previously (May
2016) that ex-pats voted Israel the 4th best country to raise their kids, according
to InterNations’ Family Life Index. This year, Israel rose to 3rd on the list,
behind Finland and the Czech Republic.Good childcare and education options were major factors.

Heating assistance for the elderly.The International Fellowship
of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) has again stepped in this winter to provide some
14,000 poor elderly Israelis with home-heating assistance amid the cold winter
weather. Vouchers were given to elderly in need in 100 municipalities.

Innovative method to
educate for peace.(TY Elaine H) Israel’s MOFET Institute is at the forefront of teachers’
training and the development of innovative methods for teaching children. Its
Technology Education and Cultural diversity (TEC) center has developed a
“virtual world” to educate about co-existence.

Syrian gives birth at Israeli hospital. (TY Bennett) A 29-year-old Syrian woman recently gave birth to a
healthy girl in Ziv Medical Center in Safed, and in gratitude to the State of
Israel, named the baby Sarah. The woman came from a village, around which every
hospital and clinic had been destroyed in the long civil war.

Building a Free Trade Zone with Jordan.(TY Eli) I reported
previously (here) on the train
link from Israel to Jordan.One of its
aims is to connect to a future Free Trade Zone in a 175-acre shared industrial
and business enclave on the Jordanian side of the River Jordan. Mines have been
cleared and work has begun on the bridge.

Still supporting homeless
Italians.(TY Hazel) I reported previously (Aug
30) that IsraAID was the first foreign NGO to provide aid to Italian
victims of the latest earthquake.Over
six months later and after another quake, IsraAID is still there, providing thermal
blankets, jackets, shoes, portable heaters and other material.

Indonesian Muslim leaders in Israel.Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin welcomed a delegation of Indonesian Muslim leaders to his Jerusalem
residence. The delegation was visiting Israel on the initiative of the
Australia / Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC). Rivlin said that his
father, Yosef Yoel Rivlin, translated the Quran into Hebrew in 1936. https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-president-meets-muslim-leaders-from-indonesia/

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Two micro satellites
launched.The
Indian Space Agency has just launched two Israeli satellites into orbit.
SpacePharma’s DIDO contains the world’s first “nano satellite laboratory” under
the control of researchers who will conduct medical experiments. Meanwhile, Ben
Gurion University’s BGUSAT will study Earth’s climate.

Israeli scientists catch early view of
supernova. (TY Sandra) Scientists from Israel’s
Weizmann Institute used rare early data of supernova SN2013fs to reconstruct
material expelled in a dying star’s final year, 160 million years ago.The study
(published in Nature Physics) was even (mis)reported
in the anti-Israel UK Graudian.

Judean pottery tracks Earth’s magnetic
field.The
Earth’s magnetic field fluctuates over time - phenomenon that is recorded in
the ceramic materials affected inside the kiln. Israeli scientific analysis of
67 well-dated Judean jar handles shows how the strength of the geomagnetic
field varied from the 8th to 2nd centuries BCE.

Cleaning up another
Indian river.(TY Steve)
I reported previously on Israel’s work to purify India’s rivers (Jan
2013) and wetlands (Feb
2014). Now Israeli cleantech Ayala Water and Ecology has been asked to
formulate a plan to clear up a stretch of the River Yamuna near Delhi - one of
the most polluted rivers in India.

Kishon River is blooming.I wrote previously (Jan
2016) on the rehabilitation progress of Israel’s once-polluted Kishon
River. Nature lovers were pleasantly surprised this winter to see the thousands
of narcissus flowers in and around the river where they hadn’t bloomed in 20
years.

Chemical analysis of plants. Researchers at Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, have developed
a new method of plant analysis and identified an average 15,000 organic
chemicals (metabolites) in each plant. They then set up a database of
metabolites, called WeizMass, and a tool MatchWeiz

Wireless sound-effects touchpad.Israeli startup GTC Sound
Innovations has produced the RevPad, an innovative wireless sound-effects
controller designed as a compact touchpad that attaches easily to any amplified
instrument.It frees guitarists from
sound-effects pedals that connect via cables to their guitars.

Wi-Fi on the plane.(TY Aviram) Israel’s Gilat
Satellite Networks is partnering with Air Media Group to provide an in-flight
broadband service exceeding 100Mbps to air passengers in flights over mainland
China.

The largest ship ever
to dock in Israel.Israel’s record for the largest ship ever to dock in the country has
been achieved by the 13,092 TEU Maersk Elba container ship which docked at Haifa
on Feb 2.Haifa is now formally a member
of an exclusive club of ports handling high-capacity 14,000 TEU mega ships.

International startup event for young
professionals.Around 350 budding entrepreneurs on the Masa Israel Journey program
attended a professional development conference at Tel Aviv’s Yitzhak Rabin
Center. They got an inside look at Israel’s start-up ecosystem and learned how
to build networks, CVs, and personal brands.

Jerusalem gives Tel Aviv a run for its
startup money.In 2015, Time magazine picked Jerusalem as the world’s top
emerging technological hub. Corporation tax had been reduced from 25% to 9%; And
the Jerusalem Development Authority’s Jnext program helped setup 110 startups
in Israel’s capital in 2016 alone.

Business zones booming in Judea and
Samaria.(TY
Hazel) Industrial parks in the Territories are in high demand.At Shahak, over 100 dunams have been sold to
developers. At Barkan 60 companies have applied to join the existing 160. Nahal
Rabah is set to open shortly, just 20 minutes from Petah Tikva.

Israeli business giants surge ahead.Israel’s Tower Semiconductor
had a record year with 2016 revenue of $1.25 billion, up 30% over 2015 and
profit of $204 million after a loss in 2015. But this was dwarfed by Israel’s
Teva whose revenue was $6.5 billion in just one quarter!

Mobileye and Volkswagen. Further to previous (Jan
2016) reports, Volkswagen and Mobileye now plan to implement a new
navigation standard for autonomous driving starting in 2018. Future Volkswagen
models will use the camera-based map and localization technology Road
Experience Management™ from Mobileye.

Wizz Air from Tel Aviv to Luton and
Varna.From
July 21, Wizz Air is commencing 3 flights a week between Varna Bulgaria
(coolest city on the Black Sea) and Tel Aviv (coolest city on the Mediterranean).
And from Jun 24, Wizz will operate four weekly flights from London Luton to Tel
Aviv.

Venture Capital for
energy conservation.Israel’s Electra Consumer Products is setting
up a joint project with Israel’s TechForGood to promote technology to solve
social problems. The joint initiative aims to foster startups in energy
conservation, the Internet of Things and air conditioning and climate control
systems.

Sewage treatment for Ethiopia. Israel’s Emefcy is to build an innovative sewage plant to serve an
area of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The plant will use Emefcy’s Membrane
Aerated Biofilm Reactor to generate recycled water for irrigating the
neighborhood’s landscape. It is Emefcy’s second treatment plant in Ethiopia.

Rihanna has a baby.Readers may remember (Jan 2015)
when Rihanna, a rare white rhino, escaped briefly from Israel’s Ramat Gan
Safari Park. She has been much more content since and recently gave birth to
her first calf, Rami - the 29th baby rhino to be born at Ramat Gan.Click here to read about three
others.

Eilat’s dolphin reef.Eilat’s dolphins are not
encaged but free to come and go when they please. Israeli biologists have
discovered that dolphins have their own names for each other, their own
language and can even remember dolphins from the past. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_PiEN07txR0?rel=0

The Tel Aviv Marathon.(TY Janglo) 40,000 runners
are registered to compete in the Tel Aviv Marathon events on Feb 24.In addition to the 42km run there is a
half-marathon, 10km run, 5km run, 42km cycle race and a kids
mini-marathon.Set along the beautiful
coast and amongst the city’s famous metropolitan sites.

Israel welcomes Latin American youth
leaders. (TY Eli) KKL-JNF held its first Latin
American Youth Leadership Conference in Israel. It brought together young
volunteers and professionals from Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil,
Ecuador and Cuba to see the wide scope of KKL-JNF projects in Israel.

102 lost Indian Jews make Aliya.One-hundred and two members
of India’s Bnei Menashe community have arrived in Israel, marking the latest
group of so-called “lost” Jews to make Aliyah.Members of the Bnei Menashe community trace their roots from Jews
banished from ancient Israel to India in the 8th century BC.

“He made me an Israeli - I am Israel”.(TY Eli) Gershon Veroba’s first
new solo album of original songs in nearly a decade, includes a song titled
"Ani Yisrael" (I am Israel). Veroba said, “Israel is part of us. It’s
ultimately where we’re from and where we live, no matter what our backgrounds
have been or where our houses are."http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223371

Flying abroad?Take some Zionism with you.(TY Eli) Helena Glaser,
Chair of the Zionist Council, highlights the 400-foot poster display of 120
Years of Zionism at Ben Gurion Airport.Its message is that although you might be leaving the Holy Land
physically, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay in Israel in spirit.

National Library buys 8000 manuscripts. (TY Eli) Israel’s National Library has purchased 8,000 or so texts at
Sotheby’s from the Valmadonna Trust collection. They include a 1491 Lisbon
Bible; a 1556 Prague Passover Haggadah and the 16th Century Plantin Polyglot
“King’s Bible” in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Aramaic and Syriac.

Inspiration for Australian Aborigines.Nyunggai Warren Mundine is a
leader of the Australian Aborigines. He has just returned from his fifth visit
to Israel in the last ten years. He says, “I’ve found inspiration in peoples
who’ve rebuilt themselves to thrive in modern society.” He describes the
history of the Jewish State very well.

Found in Jerusalem - source of Tekhelet
blue dye.The latest discovery from the Temple Mount Sifting Project are shells
from the sea-snail Murex trunculus used by Jews in Biblical times to make the
blue dye Tekhelet. The dye was used to color the fringes worn on prayer shawls
and 4-cornered garments, until the technique was lost. https://templemount.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/arent-you-dying-to-know/

Israeli weather forecast – Rain, cold
with chance of rainbows. Israelis look forward to
winter rains.They provide precious
water but are also often accompanied by a heavenly visual promise of no more global
flood!

New treatment to fight cancer.(TY Atid-EDI) I
reported previously (Sep
2013) that Dr. Sarit Larisch of Haifa University discovered ARTS - a
protein missing in tumors that regulates apoptosis (cell death). Israeli
biotech ARTSaVIT is developing a treatment based on this research and has just
received $6.3 million of funds.

Clues to defeating resistant bacteria.Scientists at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem have discovered some surprising characteristics of
bacteria.When phage-resistant bacteria
are in close contact with phage-sensitive bacteria, the resistant bacteria lose
their resistance. The discovery could help research into antibiotic resistance.

Record number of organ transplants.(TY Atid-EDI) A
record 504 Israelis were saved thanks to organ transplants in 2016, up from 433
in 2015. The number of live kidney transplants (222) was also a record and included
129 donations from friends or strangers.887,317 Israelis have now signed organ donor cards.

One Weekend in the Life of an Israeli
EMS Paramedic. (TY Steve and United Hatzalah) Dov
Maisel had six emergency calls during the 24 hours from Friday afternoon right
through Shabbat.Five people were saved.

Lung inflation device is aired on TV.I reported last week about Israel’s
Guide In Medical (GIM) and its innovative tube for inflating collapsed
lungs.GIM’s CEO Ariel Shrem has just
spoken about the device on ILTV daily. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yOb8CmAORMY?rel=0

A fighting chance. I reported previously (Feb
2016) on Israel’s Intensix and its early-warning analysis of deteriorating
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients.Intensix has won or come close to winning 3 recent startup
competitions.It has also just received
$8.3 million of financing.https://www.intensix.com/news

Paralyzed UK
policewoman walks again. Former British police
officer Nicki Donnelly, who was paralyzed in 2009, can now walk again. She
received a ReWalk exoskeleton from the Gerald Ronson Family Foundation and the UK
Jewish Community Security Trust (CST).Nicki now wants to visit ReWalk’s Israeli inventor Amit Goffer. http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/robocop-re-walk/

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Tech solutions help at-risk Israelis.American humanitarian
assistance organization Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Israel
(JDC-Israel) teamed up with Microsoft and HP for a first JDC Social Impact
Hackathon. It resulted in 21 practical solutions to help vulnerable Israelis,
e.g. the elderly and people with disabilities.

Inventing for the disabled.Another group of 160
innovators came together for a TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers) 72-hour session at
Israel’s Technion. They developed solutions for the disabled including an
umbrella for wheelchairs, a coffee-making conveyer belt for people with tremor
and a special portable toilet seat.

BBC interviews Israeli blind golfer.I’ve reported on Israel’s
world champion blind golfer Zohar Sharon previously several times (click here).But I was very surprised to hear him being
interviewed on the BBC World Service’s Outlook program. Listen after 26
minutes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04r7hgp#play

Real situation of Arab citizens of
Israel.This
article contains some interesting statistics.Between 2005 and 2011, inflation-adjusted Arab net family income
increased by 7.4%. Arabs “very satisfied” with their economic conditions rose
from 40% in 2005 to 60% in 2011. 4000 work in hi-tech – up from 400 in 2009.

Turkey’s Tourism Minister visits.Israel’s Minister of Tourism
Yariv Levin met with his Turkish counterpart, Nabi Avci, at the International
Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) conference in Tel Aviv.Avci is the first Turkish government minister
to visit Israel since the two countries normalized their relations.

Israeli PM meets UK PM.(TY Hazel) In their recent London
meeting, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu
discussed the steps to prepare the ground for a post-Brexit trade agreement.
They also committed to deepen co-operation on intelligence-sharing and
cyber-security to keep their people safe. Mrs May also invited Mr Netanyahu to
London in November to celebrate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

Pro-Zionist Muslim is Pakistan media
editor.Noor
Dahri has been appointed as an editor of Pakistan’s US-based Rabwah Times - the
first Salafi and Muslim Zionist to be an editor of the newspaper. He says he
will use his position to continue his peaceful mission to promote better
understanding between Israel and Pakistan.

Shhh! Saudis use Israeli Internet
security services. (TY BIG)
Israel’s Shmuel Bar writes how his IntuView system is used by the Saudi Arabian
government, to identify security threats on social media and the dark web.

Israeli awards for global success. Israel’s annual Wolf Foundation prize encourages achievers from
outside of Israel in the sciences and arts.This year “Israeli Nobel Prizes” were awarded to eight individuals from
the US, UK and Switzerland. They include for anti-tumor immunotherapy and for
the discovery of an exoplanet.

Molecular sensing
smartphone. Remember (see here) the SCIO
scanner from Israel’s Consumer Physics Inc? Now SCIO’s technology has been built into the Changhong
H2 to produce the world's first molecular sensing smartphone. It was unveiled
at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The most innovative startup at
CyberTech.I
wrote recently (Dec
11) about Israeli cybersecurity startup Aperio and its ability to detect
attacks against critical infrastructure.Aperio was selected as the most innovative startup in the Cybertech 2017
Startup Competition, winning a trip to the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

Keep head lice treatment under your hat.Using technology from
Israel’s Weizmann Institute, Israel’s TechCare has produced a cap that treats
head lice. It is worn on the head and releases a natural material in gas form
that kills lice and their eggs. The hat is designed for multiple use, as is the
capsule containing the material.

The first study of insect migration.An Israeli-led study over 15
years reveals that 3.5 trillion insects, weighing a total of around 3,200 tons,
migrate hundreds of kilometers every year.This is one of the first comprehensive studies that examines the
phenomenon of insect migration.

More effective crop breeding.I reported previously (Nov
2015) about Agrochemical giant Syngenta using Israel’s NRGene to map the
genomes of crops and develop hardier, higher yield varieties of seed. Syngenta
has now signed a deal to use NRGene’s GenoMagic software to save time in its
crop breeding program.

How we remember directions.Researchers at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute have discovered how bats (and possibly humans) navigate.A network of cells encodes the direction of
one’s destination. The findings may help explain how memory loss and “getting
lost” tend to go together in Alzheimer’s patients.

Making security managers happy.The biggest problems for
managers in charge of responding to computer security incidents are lack of
both time and skilled resources. So, Israel’s Demisto provides an automated
platform to handle the whole incident response lifecycle.Demisto has just raised $20 million of
funding.

Measure with your smartphone.(TY Atid-EDI) I reported
previously (Dec 2015) on MysizeID which measures your body for clothes with the
sensors of your smartphone. Now MysizeID has been upgraded so that it can measure
almost anything.Helps with packaging,
choosing furnishings, kitchen equipment etc.

Israel’s credit is good in Europe.Israel’s sale of its
largest-ever euro-denominated bonds was more than four times oversubscribed.The Israeli government sold 1.5 billion euros
($1.6 billion) in 10-year debt and 750 million euros in 20-year bonds. Investors,
however, were prepared to buy 9.8 billion euros of bonds.

Checkmarx to list on NASDAQ.I reported previously (here) about Israeli security
code checker Checkmarx and its massive revenue growth.Now Checkmarx is preparing an Initial Public
Offering (IPO) on the US NASDAQ.It has
grown to 300 employees from 180 a year ago, and plans to recruit another 100.

Its savory and sweet in South Africa.Israel’s Frutarom has made
another acquisition in South Africa, buying Pretoria-based Unique Flavors for
$6.7 million.Unique’s African customers
include in Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Unique’s operations will be
merged with Frutarom’s existing Pretoria site.

Cakes for Chinese
home-baking.(TY Nevet) Having discovered
that few Chinese own an oven, Israel’s Ronen Mechanik launched Uga Uga (Uga =
Hebrew for “cake”).Chinese users order
cake-baking kits for use in their rice cookers. 4,000 kits have already been sold
since the website’s launch - just through word of mouth.

Yet more flights from Tel Aviv.Israel’s Arkia Airlines is
commencing regular flights to London Stanstead, Milan, Salonika and Sardinia.
It has already begun flying to Belgrade. Air France is going to Tel Aviv from
Nice and Bilbao and China’s Hainan Airlines is offering Beijing flights for
$500. And (TY
Atid-EDI) Air Transat is to fly direct twice weekly from Montreal between
June and October with connections from Toronto.

Shlomo Katz benefit concert.(TY Sharon) Contemporary religious Jewish singer
and guitarist Shlomo Katz is performing in a benefit concert in Jerusalem on
Feb 23. The aim is to raise funds for building a Bayit Lehayalot - a Jerusalem
home for female Lone Soldiers.

Tel Aviv festival for dogs.(TY Nevet) Tel Avivians love their dogs
(Kelav in Hebrew) so much that they put on Kelaviv - the ultimate party for
dogs and their owners. They served sushi and cakes for canines, provided dog-massages,
therapists, stylists and much more.https://www.youtube.com/embed/EYGwuKE8GjI?rel=0

Israel in a day.In one day, actress and
writer Renny Grinshpan and Jerusalem U director Chloé Valdary make shakshuka,
learn self-defense, attend a peace pre-school, taste wine in the Gush, visit a
petting zoo, ride a very long zip line, go surfing, attend yeshiva, breakdance,
watch basketball, hit the bar and enjoy a live band.

$6 million donation for American
Football stadium.On the heels of his franchise’s latest Super Bowl title, New England
Patriots owner and five-time National Football League (NFL) champion Robert
Kraft has announced that he will donate $6 million to a new regulation-sized
American football stadium near Jerusalem.

The first all-Haredi paratrooper
company.The
first-ever all-Haredi paratrooper company of 40 soldiers was sworn in at an IDF
ceremony at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. Rabbis associated with the
Nahal Haredi Foundation, which provides support to Haredi soldiers, praised the
new paratroopers as trailblazers.

Recognition for women on Jerusalem
streets.(TY
Janglo)
Two Israeli activists got Jerusalem’s Municipality to properly recognize the
women identified in the street signs for Beruryah Street and Ruth Street.
Beruryah’s now says (in Hebrew) that she was Righteous and amazing in Torah.
Before, she was just Rabbi Meir’s wife.

US approves
two Teva asthma treatments.The US FDA has approved two treatments developed
by Israel’s Teva, for adolescents and adults with asthma. They are AirDuo
RespiClick (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) and
ArmonAir RespiClick (fluticasone propionate inhalation powder).

Patching up the brain
after surgery.Israeli biotech Nurami Medical is developing the ArtiFascia, a
biodegradable nanofiber patch that protects brain tissue and spinal cord damaged
during neurosurgery. Nurami, founded by Jewish and Arab graduates, has just
secured NIS 2.5 million ($650,000) of funds.

Diagnosing sleep apnea by smartphone.Ben-Gurion University
researchers have developed a system to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
severity by analyzing the patient’s speech using his or her smartphone.It also records and evaluates overnight
breathing sounds and has been tested successfully on 350 subjects.

A shining example.Former Lieutenant Colonel
Yossie Cohen made many life and death decisions in the IDF. But he never
thought that filling in a form at the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registration Station
was one of them.Ten years later he
received a phone call.He donated some
cells and gave another man the gift of life.

Universal flu vaccine - latest news.Knowing many sufferers of
the current flu bout, it is timely to report positive preliminary results in
the Phase 2b trials of the Universal Flu vaccine from Israel’s BiondVax.And thanks to a $2.8 million investment (see
Jan 15), BiondVax is to “proceed confidently into Phase 3 as planned.”

Everyone can visit Israel.(TY Sharon) Yad Sarah – Israel’s largest voluntary
organization – has launched a new initiative to enable disabled individuals and
their families to visit Israel. They arrange airport pick up in special vans and
transport to hotels or specially prepared apartments. Tour guides and tours are
also available.

Women feature on new bills.The design of new Israeli
currency notes features two famous Israeli women.The poet Rachel is on the new NIS 20 bill. Poet,
author and playwright Leah Goldberg is on the NIS 100 bill.

Mass-emergency drill for women.(TY Steve and United
Hatzalah) 89 women simulated the first ever all-female mass casualty incident
of its kind in Israel. The women (many ultra-Orthodox) replicated a terror
attack on a Jerusalem girls’ high-school, under the guidance of trainers,
paramedics and doctors from United Hatzalah.

Jewish-Muslim Caucus. (TY Hazel) The Israeli Knesset has inaugurated the Jewish-Muslim
Ties Caucus, alongside religious leaders from both faiths.The initiative, led by MK Zouheir Bahloul
(Zionist Union) and MK Yehudah Glick (Likud) started with a session about the
value of life in Judaism and Islam.

The Christian Empowerment Council.I have reported previously (4 times) about Father Gabriel
Naddaf and his work to promote Israel and integrate Christian citizens.He heads the Christian Empowerment Council and
their annual conference was attended by IDF and police officers, Jewish and
Arab municipality heads and Muslim and Druze sheikhs. http://cecisrael.og-en.co.il/en/home-5/

More ultra-Orthodox at university.Between 2008 and 2014 the
number of Haredim newly enrolled in academic learning institutions increased from
1,122 to 3,227.

Israel is the most popular embassy in
China.(TY
Bennett) Many foreign embassies in China have an Internet presence on Sina
Weibo – China’s most popular social media platform.And the most popular embassy - with over 1.9
million followers - is Israel! Next are Canada and the US with just over 1
million followers.

Israel welcomes foreign entrepreneurs.Israel has launched an
“Innovation Visas” program to allow foreign entrepreneurs to reside in Israel.
They will be able to stay in Israel for 2-5 years while receiving support from
the Authority’s Tnufa program, which exists specifically to help inventors with
good ideas.

UK’s partnership with Israeli
Intelligence.(TY Hazel) The Director General of British Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ) praised the “strong partnership with our Israeli
counterparts in signals intelligence”. He said the relationship “is protecting
people from terrorism... not only in the UK and Israel but in many other
countries.” https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/revealed-gchq-s-israel-uk-partnership-1.431416

Designing Canadian stamps.Israeli-born graphic
designer Avi Dunkelman has a key role in Canada Post’s five-year stamp program
honoring Canada’s towering hockey stars. The Canadian post office has issued a
new collection of hockey stamps each year, all based on Avi’s designs.

10,000 visitors to
Cybertech 2017.Tel Aviv’s Cybertech is the second largest conference and exhibition of
cyber technologies in the world. Over 10,000 visitors heard from the experts in
many of Israel’s 450 cyber companies - 65 more than a year ago.Israel’s PM also announced a new National
Center for Cyber Education.

Driverless in Las Vegas.At CES 2017, Israel’s
Mobileye and its UK partner Delphi demonstrated their latest autonomous technology
with a 6.3-mile driverless journey through the streets of Las Vegas. The car
self-drove smoothly, handling “with aplomb impolite drivers cutting in … like a
good driver was behind the wheel.”

Stopping a thief from using your
smartphone.Researchers
at Ben Gurion University have developed a method of distinguishing between the
genuine owner of a smartphone and a thief, by how the user presses the touch
screen. It takes just 35 touches to reveal an imposter – long before he/she can
steal valuable information.

Images from space.Ben-Gurion University and
Israel’s ImageSat International (owner and operator of the EROS satellites) are
developing a high resolution hyperspectral imaging system. The cameras have
been miniaturized and require only 10% of the data previously needed to produce
high-resolution images.

Radiation protection suit is heading for
the Moon.I
reported previously (Aug
2015) on the cosmic ray protection suit developed by Israel’s StemRad.The suit will be tested in 2018 on the next trial
flight to the Moon of NASA's Orion satellite. If successful, the suit will be
used on the first manned flight to Mars in 2021.

Protection from email overload.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Knowmail is building “personalized Artificial Intelligence” to help
employees manage email and other messages better. It studies your email habits,
time management and personal preferences and automatically prioritizes your
emails. Knowmail has just raised $3.5 million in funds.https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/14/knowmail/

Customize your app in minutes.(TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Insert is the first automated in-app marketing platform. It puts
"inserts" (videos, banners, messages, surveys etc.)into any live app in minutes, with no coding.
Insert is partnering with Mobiquity of the US, a digital engagement provider to
Fortune 500 companies.

Nano-packaging to
prolong shelf life.The European Union has invested 7.7 million Euros in the NanoPack project,
led by Israel’s Technion, to develop nanotech food packages for perishable
foods. Polymers based on Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs) release antimicrobial and
anti-fungal oils to inhibit microbes and increase shelf life.http://nocamels.com/2017/01/nanopack-antimicrobial-nanotech-food-packaging/

Israeli tech fuels Uruguay security
center.I
reported previously (July 31)
that Israel’s Elbit Systems (and Noa) were working on the Safe District project
for the Maldonado District of Uruguay.The $20 million security center has just opened in the presence of the
Israeli ambassador to Uruguay and the Israeli companies.

Unemployment at new
record low.Israel's
unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in December, from the previous record low of
4.5% in November.Most of the increase
was in full-time jobs.More women joined
the labor force.The average salary rose
by more than 2.5% over the past year.

Over $100 billion in currency
reserves. Ahead of the official announcement,
foreign exchange analysts have calculated that the Bank of Israel's foreign
currency reserves have exceeded $100 billion for the first time ever. Last
month’s value was $98.361 billion and the BOI added at least $2.75 billion in
January.

Record electricity
production from natural gas.69% of all electricity produced in Israel now
comes from natural gas - a new Israeli record. The Israel Electric Corporation
reported electricity production at 11,936 megawatts, of which 8,258 MW was produced
by gas-driven turbines. The rest is from coal and other sources.

Air fares fall 15% thanks to Open Skies.Air fares from Israel to
Western Europe have fallen 18% in the five years since Israel signed the Open
Skies airline competition agreement with the EU. Fares to North America have also dropped – by
14%.110 foreign airlines now fly to Israel,
and passenger traffic has increased by 40%.

More foreign tourists stay in Israel.(TY Atid-EDI) Some
970,000 tourists stayed at least one night in Israel in Nov 2016, an increase
of 38% compared to Nov 2015 and 23% higher than Nov 2014. The revenue generated
from foreign tourists in Nov 2016 was more than 1.5 billion shekels ($390
million).

Up to 100 startups on show.More details of the world’s
largest equity crowdfunding conference taking place in Jerusalem on Feb 16. 5000 delegates from 80 countries including 200
multinationals. Most of OurCrowd’s portfolio of 110 startups will participate. They
include Consumer Physics, MedAware, VocalZoom, Freightos and Zebra
Medical.http://blog.ourcrowd.com/summit5k/Search for info on them at www.IsraelActive.com

Facebook community for Israeli startups.Israel’s Startup Stadium is a
non-profit venture that maintains a Facebook page with almost 40,000 friends
and a variety of other activities. It provides a network of connections between
entrepreneurs, investors, and representatives of international corporations.

From university idea, to startup success.I reported previously (Aug
2013) about the GuideIN Tube designed by students at Jerusalem’s Hadassah
Medical Center to help inflate collapsed lungs.Guide In Medical is now a startup company and has just raised two
million shekels ($529,000) for further development of the device.

Israel’s first student-run venture fund.Fresh.fund is Israel’s new
student-run venture fund.Its aim is to invest
in early-stage companies and ventures run by students and others.​The new fund has raised $1 million from an
angel investor in Jerusalem and intends to invest $20,000 to $50,000 per
venture.

$250 million for Israeli plastics
company.US Celanese
Corporation has acquired the nylon compounding product portfolio of Israel’s
Nilit Plastics for an estimated $250 million. Nilit, however, will retain
ownership of its worldwide nylon fibers and polymerization businesses,
including facilities in Israel, US, China, and Brazil.

Online cash advances.Israeli fintech startup
Behalf has provided millions of dollars of short-term loans to US companies to
pay their suppliers.Borrowers apply on the
Behalf website, which uses databases and algorithms to decide if the borrower
is a good risk. Behalf pays the supplier, and collects from the borrower on pay
day.

Things to do in Israel in February.Israeli events in February
include Eilat Chamber Music festival, Bonnie Tyler, Crazy Horse Paris Show, Red
Sea Jazz festival and the Tel Aviv Marathon. Later, on April 6, Jean Michel
Jarre is to perform a concert at Masada.

Levi Eshkol House to open in Jerusalem.(TY Sharon) Levi Eshkol was Israel’s fourth Prime
Minister, from 1964-1969. His former official Jerusalem residence at 46 Ben
Maimon Street has been renovated and should be fully open to the public shortly.
From these humble surroundings, the Six
Day War was commanded.

Tears For Fears.One of the most iconic bands
of the 80s, Tears for Fears, has lined up a July 5th concert in Tel Aviv’s Menora
Arena (the old Nokia Arena).The video
is of their hit. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”! https://www.youtube.com/embed/aGCdLKXNF3w?rel=0

Birdwatching in the Hula Valley.(TY Nevet) The Hula Valley in northern
Israel is where ornithologists and “twitters” watch hundreds of bird species
rest during their winter migration. Scientists estimate that some 42,500 Gray
cranes stayed this winter in the Agamon Hula Lake. To protect crops they are
fed with corn.

Beersheba qualifies for European soccer
finals.(TY Nevet) Israeli soccer team Hapoel Beersheba
drew 1-1 with UK’s Southampton FC to win a place in UEFA’s Europa League
knockout competition stages.Beersheba
finished second in the group stage with two wins and two draws - enough to
clinch a spot in the next round.

Discovering a vineyard
for the Temple wine.(TY Nevet)
Whilst Yaakov Berg was planting his vines in Psagot, Judea, he discovered a
cave containing a 2000-year-old wine press.Their “new” vineyard was exactly on the site where wine for the ancient
Temple in Jerusalem had been made.

Report the good news too!(TY Walter’s World)
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin told delegates at the recent international Jewish
Media Summit in Jerusalem to report not just the bad that happens in Israel,
but the good as well. “I urge you all: be sure you give a voice to those
working for a better future.”

Israel’s biblical dog.New article about the Canaan
dog - Israel’s national dog breed. It has been around for at least 2,500 years
as evidenced by first-century rock carvings in Sinai. And in 1987, the largest dog
cemetery in the ancient world, with 700 Canaan dog skeletons, was unearthed in
Ashkelon.

An indigenous people returns home.A short, yet powerful video,
“If you will it, it is no Dream” - produced by Israel-advocacy organization
StandWithUs. It shows that Israel has, and will always be, the home of the
indigenous population – the Jewish people.https://www.youtube.com/embed/cuiKSH-jUYY?rel=0

VeryGoodNewsIsrael goes to Rehovot.Thanks to Marlene for
arranging my presentation to the T.E.A.M. (Together English-speakers Achieve
More) group in Rehovot.I am now
available to talk about my newsletter to groups elsewhere in Israel.Meanwhile, please read about our discovery of
family history in Rehovot.

Israeli doctors save
Arab baby with a serious birth defect.Ibtihaj from Arab village of Kfar Kassam was
born with her intestines outside her abdomen.After birth, surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital put her organs
back in place. They closed the wound with the Israeli TopClosure Tension Relief
System (see
here).

US approves media for growing stem
cells.(TY Atid-EDI) The
US FDA has approved the application from Israel’s Biological Industries for its
NutriStem hPSC XF Medium to grow stem cells.The kibbutz-based company has over 30 years’ experience in cell culture
media development and manufacturing.

US approves suturing system.(TY Atid-EDI) I
wrote previously (Oct
10) that Israel’s Gordian Surgical had received CE (European) certification
for its innovative TroClose1200 system for closing wounds after keyhole
surgery.The system has now received US
FDA approval and Gordian has received a $2.25 million investment.

Advanced gene editing.Researchers at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute have combined two powerful research tools to advance the
search for genetic breakthroughs.First,
they use CRISPR gene editing to make changes to DNA molecules. Then they use single-cell
genomic profiling to confirm the outcome of changes.

Predictive analytics health research
institute set up.Israel’s Maccabi Health Services has set up a $6 million digital health
research institute. It has already developed technology for predicting colon
cancer among Maccabi patients who never considered going for a scan for this
purpose.And it is not stopping there.

Migraine
treatment for South Korea.(TY Meron) Israel’s Redhill Biopharma and its
Canadian co-development partner, IntelGenx have signed a definitive agreement
with Korea’s Pharmatronic, granting an exclusive license (initially for 10
years) to market the acute migraine treatment RIZAPORT® in South Korea.

UK PM hails
remarkable, tolerant Israel.In a speech to the Conservative Friends of
Israel, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May called the State of Israel “a
remarkable country” and “a beacon of tolerance”. She said UK ties with Israel
were “crucial,” and promised to raise the bilateral trade relationship to new
heights.

“Linked
to Life” again.I reported previously (twice) on the
What’s App group “Linked to Life” run by Israeli charity Ezer Mizion.Here are some more examples of the
life-enhancing activities of its thousands of volunteers, taking parents by car
to see their sick children in hospital.

The truth about Arabs.Mohammad Darawshe, director
at The Center for a Shared Society at Givat Haviva presents some “astounding”
statistics.23% of Israeli doctors are
Arabs; 46% of Israeli pharmacists are Arabs; 28% of Technion hi-tech students are
Arabs and 16% of the students in all of Israeli higher education are Arabs.

Israelis raise more money for Syrians.(TY Suri) Religious Jews do
not remain silent when they see what is happening to Syrian civilians.Beit Hillel – a small, Modern-Orthodox
spiritual leadership movement with 200 Rabbis – has just raised $10,000 for the
Syrian refugee children.

Israel takes in 100 Syrian orphans.Israel is to absorb 100 orphans from Syria.The children will receive temporary resident
status, be placed in boarding schools and with Arab foster families, and later,
should their families seek a unification, both they and their family members
would be absorbed in Israel. And 1000 Israelis formed a human chain from the
Russian embassy to the US embassy to demonstrate support of Syria's civilians,

Massachusetts police learn
counter-terrorism.I reported previously (Sep
2015) on the 13th trip that the Anti-Defamation League arranged for US
police to train in Israel.Their 2016 trip
included police, FBI and Homeland Security agents from Massachusetts. Many had
memories of the 2013 Boston marathon bombing.

Co-operation with Latin American
Universities.Some 20 rectors from leading Latin American universities signed
agreements with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in a first-of-its-kind
conference signaling growing academic cooperation. They also met with President
Reuven Rivlin at his Jerusalem residence.

Working together for a greener world.The Arava Valley Institute
for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura in the Negev brings together
Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, Palestinian Arabs and Jordanians to study the
region’s environmental problems. Their solutions also work in similar
conditions worldwide.

Going to the Moon.(TY NoCamels.com)
Israel’s SpaceIL is one of only five teams (out of 33 starters) to reach the
final of the Google Lunar XPrize competition, which will award $20 million to
the first private team to land a vehicle safely on the surface of the
Moon.The five teams all now have
verified launch contracts.The
announcement also coincides with Israel Space Week.

Burundi solar field breaks ground.I reported previously (Apr
2015) on the plan by Israel’s Gigawatt Global to build a 7.5 MW solar field
in Burundi, East Africa. The $14 million project has now broken ground with a
ceremony attended by about 2,500 government officials, investors, religious
leaders and diplomats.

A system that can evaluate the truth.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Rootclaim has launched a crowdsourced analysis platform that navigates
a sea of evidence and half-truths to arrive at the most likely hypothesis.What happened to flight MH370?Does the MMR vaccine cause autism?Find the (likely) answer on this site.

Award-winning smart water meter sensor.Israel’s BwareIT has
developed BrighTap, a smart water meter sensor that monitors water quality and
consumption. BrighTap beat 1,000 startups from 101 countries to win the 2016
Startup Open competition, run by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). It was also one of CNBC’s hottest startups of
2016. http://www.israel21c.org/brightap-takes-first-place-in-gens-startup-open/

Cola plant substitute for fizzy drinks.Israel’s Hishtil Nurseries produces
the Cola plant (Artemisia abrotanum). Its leaves give a caramel flavor to hot
and cold beverages, and even salads, stews and stir-fries. It is one of 250
kinds of culinary herbal plants exported by Hishtil across Western Europe and
North America.

Your voice is your fingerprint.(TY Atid-EDI) I
reported previously (several
times) on Israel’s VocalZoom and its amazing voice recognition software
that eliminates noise.It has now put the
system onto portable sensors so it can now be used as a biometric method for
authenticating someone - just like a fingerprint.

Mystery of super flash solved. Weizmann Institute scientists have determined the cause of a
heavenly flash of light, on June 14 2015, that was double the intensity of any
previous supernova.They ascertained
that it was a star being swallowed by a massive black hole, rotating close to
the speed of light.

First US basketball team to use Israeli
tech.(TY Nevet) I’ve reported previously (several times) on Israel’s
Playsight and its Smart Court tennis training system. The system has now been
adapted for basketball and installed by NBA Champions Golden State Warriors in
Oakland California.

Startup’s Artificial Intelligence helps
to launch startups.Israeli startup Dragonera uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate
up to 70% of a startup’s early development phase. Dragonera uses blocks of code
(microservices) to produce the prototype of any startup’s new app.

Eddy can help feed the world.Karen Kloosterman, of
Israel’s Flux, has developed Eddy - a foot-high plastic robot that communicates
the growing conditions of your hydroponics unit (pH level, temperature,
humidity, pollutants etc.) via a smartphone app. It can even control the
nutrients in the plants, revolutionizing agriculture.

Economic indicator soars upwards.I often report the monthly
increase in Israel’s Composite State of the Economy (CSE) indicator.It usually rises by 0.2 – 0.3% but in
December it shot up by 0.45%. Factors include higher consumer spending,
increased industrial production and more revenue from trade and services.

Internet support for peripheral firms.Israeli website builder
Wix.com, Google and the nonprofit Atidim are helping 10,000 businesses far from
Israel’s financial center to set up websites, and use social media platforms.The Digital Starter project is supported by the
Israeli government and some 250 trained volunteers.

Learn to innovate in Israel.Israel has the greatest
number of startups per capita in the world, prompting entrepreneurship courses
at universities and colleges throughout the country. Ben Gurion University, the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion, the IDC and ORT all aim to combine
theory with practical help.

Buy for Good.Israeli startup Buy for Good
only sells products produced in vocational training centers that offer
rehabilitation and employment opportunities for people with disabilities and
from underprivileged communities. Soaps, tea, dolls, Judaica items etc. are
sold via the website and shipped locally and overseas.

Israeli crime-busting software sells big
in USA.(TY
Harold G) Israel’s Cellebrite has sold its phone and computer forensic software
to police agencies in at least 20 US states.Revenue from the sales exceeds $4 million including $2 million from the
FBI alone.

New flights from
Israel. Low-cost airline Ryanair is to commence
flights out of Tel Aviv.Its first route
is to Paphos, beginning in March.More
European destinations are expected soon. Cypriot airline TUS is adding Athens,
Rhodes and Kos to its Haifa route. And Iceland’s WOW Air is to go daily from
Tel Aviv to Reykjavik.

TaxiBot pulls Airbus 320.(TY Atid-EDI) I
reported previously (three times)
about TaxiBot from Israel Aerospace Industries, which has been towing Lufthansa
Boeing 737 jets at Frankfurt airport since 2014.It has just completed tests on towing Airbus
320neo jets at Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France and is now in the final
stages of certification.http://www.iai.co.il/2013/32981-48158-en/MediaRoom.aspx

CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Darom Adom (Red South) festival.The Darom Adom Festival, throughout
February, follows the rainy season, when the ordinarily green landscape of the
northern Negev is covered with a magnificent carpet of scarlet red anemones.This year the festival features mountain bike
marathons, poetry readings, concerts by Israeli artists every Thursday, and
much more.https://www.touristisrael.com/darom-adom-festival/9365/

Jerusalem’s Winter Festival.(TY Israel21c)
February in Jerusalem sees the annual Shaon Horef (Winter Noise) cultural festival.
On each of the four Monday evenings, Jerusalem’s streets are transformed into
art and music venues. Events include street theatre, night tours, dance classes
and videos screened on buildings.

Australian Open runner up.Israeli tennis prodigy Yshai
Oliel reached the final of the boy’s singles at the Australian Open, beating
the number one seed.Oliel won the
junior Orange bowl twice and last year won the boys doubles at the French Open.
At last year’s US Open, he reached the semi-finals of the boys singles.

Israeli windsurfer
wins youth world title.(TY Bennett) Israel’s Yoav Omer won gold in
the boys’ RS:X race of the Youth Sailing World Championships, held in Auckland,
New Zealand.In addition, Israel’s Ido
Blik and Ofek Shalgi won silver in the 420 boys class race and Katy Spychakov won
silver in the RS:X girls class race.

The JNF is 115.Keren Kayemet Le’Israel-Jewish
National Fund (KKL-JNF) has planted some 240 million trees in Israel since its
founding in 1901. And it has undertaken massive projects in sustainability,
conservation, education, tourism, agriculture, roads and reservoirs. It also
works in Kenya, Colombia, Italy, Australia and even Indonesia.https://www.youtube.com/embed/pno6FjZonWI?rel=0

400 feet of Zionism at Ben Gurion
Airport.To
commemorate the 120th anniversary of the first Zionist Congress, the World
Zionist Organization has installed a 400-foot long exhibition of posters at Ben
Gurion Airport. They comprise photos and compositions depicting milestones in
the history of the Zionist movement.

Successful bone
transplants.I reported previously (often)
on the revolutionary method from Israel’s Bonus BioGroup for growing bone in
the lab from a patient’s own fat cells.Latest trials show that bone, injected into the jaws of all 11
patients, successfully fused to existing bone and filled gaps in their
deteriorating jawbones.

European approval to grow bone from
coral.(TY
Harold G) I reported previously (twice)
about Israel’s CoreBone which grows ultra-strong bone-graft material in the
laboratory from corals.CoreBone
recently received both CE and ISO 13485 certification to allow the company to
sell the product in Europe.

How viruses communicate.Weizmann Institute
scientists have discovered that some viruses (phages) secrete small molecules
that are read and updated by other copies of the same virus. Viruses use this to coordinate their attack
and will go dormant if these molecules indicate that insufficient uninfected
host cells remain.

App to streamline emergency response.Magen David Adom, Israel’s
national emergency service, has developed the My MDA app. It provides
dispatchers and ambulance teams with advance information, including the exact
location of the user, medical information, and photos or a live video feed from
the scene.

An excellent brain scientist.Professor Haim Sompolinsky of
the Hebrew University in Jerusalem won Israel’s EMET prize for Excellence in
Life Sciences (Brain Research) for his work on the principles of brain function
and the behavior of neuronal networks, and for shaping brain theories into a
systematic discipline.

Thank you for fighting
Ebola.On
the first ever state visit to Israel, the President Ernest Bai Koroma of the
Muslim-majority Sierra Leone expressed his gratitude for the Jewish
state’s assistance in fighting the Ebola virus.“That we have put the Ebola behind us is
because of the support of this nation” he said.

Promoting women, Arabs and haredi in hi-tech.The Israeli government has
announced a $325 million six-year program to boost the number of higher
education students by 40%, and to encourage women, Arabs, and ultra-Orthodox to
get hi-tech jobs.The program aims to address
the future likely shortage of hi-tech workers.

Arab volunteers in the IDF."Why did I decide to
enlist?" asks Sergeant Yusef Salutta, a 20-year-old Arab from the north of
Israel who serves with the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion. "Because I'm
from this country and I love the country and I want to contribute," he
said. "anybody who lives here should enlist."

Co-operating over water. After a six-year hiatus, Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA)
officials have signed an agreement to jointly advance water infrastructure and
development. In the last 18 months, the two sides have signed agreements
covering electricity, mail, 3G cellular infrastructure and now water.

“Settler” medics treat Palestinian Arab.In a not-unusual event, United
Hatzalah medics from Judea and Samaria treated a Palestinian Arab injured in a
traffic accident near Gush Etzion. Afterwards they passed him to the Palestinian
Authority's Red Crescent ambulance service, which transported him to the
nearest PA hospital.

Celebrating 20 years of EU-Israel
co-operation.(TY Sharon) In sharp contrast to
political conflicts, European ambassadors to Israel joined Israeli scientists,
entrepreneurs, and invited guests to celebrate a successful two decades of
collaboration on scientific research and technological development.

Historic visit of
African states.(TY Pamela
Levene) Foreign ministers from 12 Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) attended a major Jerusalem conference – the first ECOWAS meeting
outside of Africa.Pamela’s son Adam of
MASHAV talks about the visit on IBA news (view from 9 mins 30 secs)

Bringing laughter to Tanzanian tribe.The founders of Israeli-developed
Powtoon brought their animation software to the remote Hadzabe tribe in
Tanzania.On seeing PowToon’s cartoons
for the first time, the entire tribe was in fits of laughter.After earning the tribe’s trust, the team brought
doctors to treat their eye problems.

Saving the Peruvian monkey.Two Israeli researchers are
behind a global campaign to rescue the last remaining yellow-tailed woolly
monkeys of Peru - one of the world’s 25 most endangered Primates. The Israelis
have launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to purchase lands that the
monkeys inhabit.

An excellent mathematician.Professor David
Kazhdan of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem won Israel’s EMET prize for
Excellence in Exact Sciences (Mathematics) for his work in design of
representation theory and its uses in algebra, algebraic geometry and number
theory.

Israeli tech comes to
the Super Bowl and Laliga.(TY Pamela Levene)
Intel bought Israel’s Replay Technologies and its 360-degree video technology for
$170 million last
year. FOX Sports will use it in the Super Bowl broadcast. Thanks to
Pamela’s son Yonatan, Spanish soccer league Laliga is also now using it.

4000 smart rental cars.Israel’s Pointer Telocation
Systems (see
here) has won a tender to manage a five-year driver behavior project in
cooperation with the American Transit Insurance Company (ATIC), which insures
rented cars in New York. 4000 cars will be fitted with systems from Pointer and
Mobileye.

Computerized
companion for the elderly.Israeli startup
Intuition Robotics is developing social companion technology to positively
impact the lives of millions of older adults.Its first product is ElliQ, robot resembling a lamp that uses body
language to convey emotion, plus sounds, light, in addition to voice, to
express itself.

Did we just get hacked?Israeli cybersecurity
startup SECDO saves huge amounts of time following a security “incident”. It
collects all data, all the time, from all endpoints.When the alarms go off, management can see it’s
not a false alarm and can close the breach instantly. SECDO has just received
$10 million of funding.

More joint science papers with the US.(TY Stan and Bennett) The
number of co-authored scientific publications involving American and Israeli
researchers has increased by 45 percent over the last decade, from 3,439 joint
U.S.-Israel publications in 2006 to 4,979 publications in 2015.

Israeli tech finds
major problem in Italian power station.I reported previously (Nov 20)
on Israeli startup 3DSignals. Its acoustic technology has detected a
malfunction in a hydroelectric power station run by Italian company Enel. Early
repair of the faulty oil valve saved Enel hundreds of thousands (if not
millions) of Euros.

The second most innovative nation.The World Economic Forum’s
Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 ranks Israel as the second most
innovative nation in the world after Switzerland. Israel rose 3 positions to
24th for competitiveness, thanks to Venture capital (2), Research institutes
(3), R&D (3) and collaboration (3).

BDS fail – investment in Israel tripled.Ambassador Yoram Ettinger’s recent
report highlights that the foreign capital flow into Israel shows a near
tripling from 2005 when the so-called BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions)
campaign started. 2016 was a record year and more is forecast by Israel’s
Finance Minister.

China to solve Israeli housing shortage.Israel and China have signed
a draft agreement that will bring 6,000 Chinese construction workers to Israel
in 2017 to build homes and alleviate the housing shortage.

Tel Aviv is Start-up City.The Israeli entrepreneurs in
this video are making everything from smart cars to apps that connect
volunteers with their next project. See why Israel is called the Start-up Nation
and Tel Aviv is the Start-up City.https://www.youtube.com/embed/-isOUlHybW8?rel=0

FT Fintech award winner. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Transmit Security has won the UK Financial Times Future of Fintech
Innovation Award for its ability to create lasting change in the financial
services sector on a global scale. Transmit Security brings together biometric
and other financial security services on to one platform.

Oracle to open Israeli
startup cloud accelerator.Computer giant Oracle is opening its Startup
Cloud Accelerator program in Tel Aviv. It provides six months of mentoring from
technical and business experts, state-of-the-art technology, a co-working
space, plus access to Oracle's customers, partners and investors.

Car-sharing rentals in Tel Aviv.This summer, Israel’s Car2Go
is starting operations of Auto Tel – a new car-sharing service in Tel Aviv.
Subscribers can rent one of 260 cars, together with 500 reserved parking
spaces. The service aims to reduce car ownership costs, traffic congestion,
pollution and parking problems in Tel Aviv.

Sweet smell of Israeli coffee in Canada.Israel’s Aroma has opened 35
cafes in Toronto since its 2007 launch in Canada.It has also opened in Ottawa, Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Oakville and London Ontario, bringing to 39 the number of Canadian locations.
In 2017, it’s planning to open 10 more branches, including in Vancouver.

The 8th best place to visit.America’s first fashion
magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Israel should be number eight on your list as a
vacation destination. The magazine states, “Don’t be fooled; its vibrant
culture, phenomenal food scene, historic landmarks, beaches and endlessly
impressive hotels are too much of a draw to ignore.”

Israeli blues – Israel’s best kept
secret.(TY
Steve and Moshe) The Tel Aviv Blues festival, in the heart of south Tel Aviv, attracted
some of the finest blues musicians from all over Israel. At the local
“Tsuzamen” venue, Moshe Beauford played as guest violin with featured band Oded
Weiss & Peripherya.

Rod Stewart is coming to Israel.Legendary Rock Superstar Rod
Stewart will be “sailing” again into Israel when he performs on June 14 2017 in
the Yarkon Park Tel Aviv.The video is
of his 2010 concert in Israel.

Blind golfer is world champion again.(TY Michael P) I wrote
previously (twice) about
Israel’s Zohar Sharon - one of the best known blind
golfers in the world. He recently won his sixth (bi-annual) International Blind
Golf Association tournament.

Israeli and American
share top Bible Quiz prize.Yair Shahak of New York City and Israel’s Yafit
Silman were joint winners of the International Adult Bible Contest in Jerusalem
in December. The competition is held every two years. Yair reached the last
eight in 2014 and had to defeat his wife on the way to this year’s final.

Israel’s nationalism is a model to
emulate.An
article by ex-Labor MK Einat Wilf.The
world should admire Israel. E.g. airport security - no need to remove belts and
shoes or throw away bottles of water.Israel’s main problem is “timing”, because what once was only Israel’s
problem, is now coming to everyone.

$10 million donation for Diaspora
Museum.The
San Francisco-based Koret Foundation has given a $10 million grant to the Beit
Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People) in Tel Aviv. It will fund an International
School offering educational programs for visitors, online users, students,
educators and community leaders.

Hebrew Language Day.Israel marks Hebrew Language
Day every year on the birthday of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of modern
spoken Hebrew. This year, the Hebrew date falls on January 19th.The revival of the 3000-year-old language is
unique, becoming a spoken language after being dormant for centuries.

Cutting the blood supply to cancer
cells.I
reported previously (Dec
2013) on Israel’s VBL Therapeutics (aka Vascular Biogenics) and its
treatment VBL-111 for brain cancer. VBL-111 targets new blood vessels developed
to feed the tumor. Also, delivering the treatment inside a virus triggers the
immune system to attack the tumor.

Medical scan diagnosis
from home.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision has launched “Profound” –fast, accurate medical
image analysis over the web.Individuals
can upload their medical imaging scans such as CTs and mammograms to Zebra’s
online service, and receive an automated analysis for key clinical conditions. In
addition, Zebra also
announced a new algorithm that can increase osteoporosis detection by 50%.

Smart bracelet tracks injured soldiers.Cadets in the IDF
Technological Officers Training Course have developed a digital bracelet that medics
attach to soldiers injured on the battlefield. Sensors monitor pulse, blood
pressure, and body temperature. A chip tracks medication and procedures for
handover to the hospital.

106 new subsidized treatments and dental
treatment.(TY
Janglo)
In the 2017 healthcare basket of subsidized medicine, Israel’s government has
added 106 new medicines and treatments for cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's and
HIV. It is also providing free dental treatment for children up to the age of 15.

Space & Time in the Brain.Top speakers in the fields
of memory, space & time, presented their research during the international “Space
& Time in the Brain” conference in Jerusalem. Over 250 delegates heard from
experts about the physiology of the brain and its ability to affect temporal
and special awareness.

Paramedic on electric bike saves baby.(TY Steve) United Hatzalah’s
Yehuda Fachima rode his electric bike through the narrow alleys of Jerusalem’s
Geula neighborhood just in time to save the life of a 5-month-old baby girl
choking on fluids trapped in her airway.An ambulance arrived 7 minutes later to take the baby to hospital.

This is Israel.Israel’s Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon where Save A
Child’s Heart surgeons have been mending the hearts of thousands of children
from all over the world, including countries having no diplomatic relations
with Israel.

A guide dog can change one’s life.The Israel Guide Dog Centre
marks its 25th anniversary.by publishing the stories of individuals whose lives
were changed by a guide dog. They include Gadi Yarkoni, who ran in the Rio Paralympics;
Orit Ray, who pulls her daughter in an accessible buggy and Saleem Sharif – doing
National Service at a health clinic. http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/a-leap-of-faith-with-a-furry-friend/

Tackling domestic violence.Israeli social service
organization Yad Sarah has opened its second facility dedicated to the
treatment of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. Its new “family
center” in Israel’s western Negev region joins the Jerusalem treatment center,
which opened in 2000.

Minorities in the IDF.There are Muslim, Bedouin
and Christian soldiers that volunteer to join the IDF, in addition to Druze and
Circassian soldiers whose leaders undertook to be drafted into the IDF. Many
are high-ranking. During their service, the IDF recognizes the rights of these
(and all) soldiers to honor their traditions.

UK Navy ship docks at Haifa.(TY Nevet) British Royal Navy’s HMS Bulwark stopped
in Haifa Port on its way back to the United Kingdom. The Navy stated that the
docking “demonstrates the growing relationship between the Royal Navy and the
Israeli Navy and the desire to continue to develop that interaction.”

13km water tunnel to Jerusalem.Israel’s national water
carrier Mekorot has begun the construction of the world’s longest tunnel for
transporting water under pressure.It
will extend 13km from near Beit Shemesh to Ein Kerem in Jerusalem.It is part of the project to connect the coastal
desalination plants to the rest of Israel.

The origin of autonomous technology.(TY Nevet) Israeli universities (mainly the
Hebrew University, Technion, Tel Aviv University and Weizmann) are globally
renowned for their research and educational programs in the IT fields that are
at the heart of the race for autonomous vehicles.

BGU and PayPal set-up R&D
partnership.Online payment system PayPal has established its first-ever partnership
with Israeli academia. It has joined with Ben Gurion University to develop big
data, machine learning, and cybersecurity solutions that will make payment
transactions safer for its 192 million customers.

Giving control back to
the app developers.(TY Atid-EDI)
When startups build an app, they nearly always use development kits (SDKs) from
3rd parties to do the mundane things such as crash reporting, advertising,
login or security.Israel’s SafeDK monitors
the SDKs. Its products are now on millions of mobile devices.

Saving male chicks from unnecessary
slaughter. (TY Atid-EDI) I
reported previously (Dec
2013) on Israel’s EggDetect that prevents hatching of male chicks -
unwanted by the egg industry.Now there
is an alternative – TeraEgg from Israel’s Novatrans. It uses terahertz spectroscopy
on gasses that leak from the pores of the egg.

Stimulating drought-resistance in corn.(TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Evogene has successfully improved the ability of corn to thrive in drought
conditions with its Bio-stimulant products. These produce drought-resistant
microbial strains that have produced high yields in their first year of
testing.

Loads of Israeli tech at CES.The Israeli pavilion at CES
2017 in Las Vegas was full of hi-tech Israeli products.The BBC mentioned that TytoCare’s telehealth
system was Israeli, but failed to credit Israel with Intel’s Project Alloy AR
headset or BMW’s partnership with Israel’s Mobileye.

Israel’s growth is awesome.Ambassador Ettinger summarizes
Israel’s economic and technological growth over the last 20 years as “unprecedented”.And the last 12 months wasn’t bad either.The second video details many of the foreign
investments in Israel – totaling $3.76 billion last year.

Israeli hi-tech companies raise record
$4.8 billion.(TY TIP)
Israeli private high-tech companies, a main driver of the country's economy,
raised an all-time high of $4.8 billion in 2016, up 11 percent from 2015.The ability to raise funds has allowed
Israeli startups to grow and cut down dramatically the number of early exits.

The startup that test-drives startups.Israeli startup ProoV is the
first ever “pilot-as-a-service” and the only one in the world. It offers a
platform to allow independent software vendors (i.e. startups) to demonstrate
their proofs of concept (i.e. early-stage developments) to global enterprises
(i.e. big companies).

Universal flu vaccine gets $2.8 million
investment.I’ve reported previously many times about the
Universal Flu vaccine being developed by Israel’s BiondVax. The biotech has
just received $2.8 million of funding from Angel Investments – managed by
Israelis Dr. Yair Schindel and Marius Nacht, founder of Israel’s Checkpoint.

Israel is a hotspot for Australian
startups.Up
to 40 Australian trade delegations visited Israel in 2016.An estimated 400 people attended The Bridge,
an Israel-Australia investment summit, held in Sydney in November. And almost
all thought that Israel could teach Australia how to build an innovative
economy.

An Israeli supermarket
in New York.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israeli supermarket chain Osher Ad has opened its first New York branch, named
Bingo, in Brooklyn. If successful, more stores could be opened in cities with
large Jewish communities.Osher Ad is
Israel's fourth-largest supermarket chain, numbering 15 stores.

Customers saved $250 million.(TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Optimal+ analyzed more than 50 billion semiconductor devices on behalf
of its customers in the 12 months to Oct 2016.The information has saved its customers in excess of $250 million through
improved yield, efficiency and quality.

Over 5,000% growth in revenue.(TY Atid-EDI) AnyClip,
the world’s first personalized, content-driven video advertising platform, has
been ranked by Deloitte as second of the fastest growing technology companies
in Israel and 14th outside of the USA.AnyClip’s
revenue has grown by 5,141% since 2012.

Joseph and his Brothers.The Jerusalem Baroque
Orchestra and the Profeti della Quinta male vocal ensemble will perform Joseph
and His Brothers, in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa on Jan 24, 25 and 28. The musical
drama was written by Israeli composer, harpsichordist and bass singer Elam
Rotem.

Quiet Heart wins twice
at Tallinn film festival.(TY
Nevet)The Israeli film Lev
Shaket (A Quiet Heart) won two top honors at the 20th Tallinn Black Nights Film
Festival. Director Eitan Anner took home the Grand Prix honor and actress Ania
Bukstein received the award for Best Actress.

NASCAR driver is Athlete of the Year.Alon Day, the first Israeli
to compete for America’s NASCAR racing circuit, was recognized by Israel’s
Ministry of Culture and Sports as the Jewish state’s Athlete of the Year for
2016. Day competed full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and in the NASCAR
Xfinity Series.

Jewish major league baseball players
visit Israel.(TY David L) 10 Jewish American major league baseball players made their
first tour of Israel as a preliminary to competing as “Team Israel” in the
World Baseball Classic in South Korea in March.Highlights of the tour will be included in a documentary called
"Heading Home" by Ironbound Films.https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oahvtq77kcc?rel=0

We are all responsible for each other.(TY Karen) Many Israelis
opened their homes to the thousands of Israeli citizens who had to escape from
the devastating November fires. Volunteers calling the Haifa Municipality were
told to “get in line” because so many had offered to host fleeing residents.

Lost sheep return.I reported previously (Apr
3) that Jenna and Gil Lewinsky, an Israeli couple in Vancouver, were raising
Jacob sheep (mentioned in Genesis) for returning to the land of their
ancestors. Now the first 3 of 11 flights carrying the sheep have arrived in
Israel on 28th Heshvan – the day that Noah came out of the ark.

The gate to King Solomon’s mines.In 2014 Tel Aviv University archaeologists
found an ancient gatehouse complex in the Negev Desert. Remains of the stables
and other artifacts in one of the largest copper smelting camps in Timna Valley
have now been dated as 3,000 years old - the time of Kings David and Solomon.

Volunteering in Israel.(TY Or) International
Volunteer Day on Dec 5 is always well-supported in Israel.Israel Central Bureau of Statistics published
the volunteer data for 2015. Last year, 1.1 million Israelis volunteered - 21%
of adults age 20 to 64 and 16% of those 65 and older.

Treatment for tremors
is also Israeli.(TY Hazel) Yet another example. The BBC radio broadcast itself didn’t
mention that the Exablate Neuro ultrasound machine for treating tremor is
produced by Israel’s Insightec.They then
buried that fact deep in their report on their website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38157770

Food supplement can treat FD disorder.Tel Aviv University
researchers have discovered that a popular food supplement called phosphatidylserine
can reverse the effects of the debilitating neurodegenerative disorder Familial
Dysautonomia (FD). It improves the
supply route to neurons by reducing levels of enzyme HDAC6.

Life-saving treatments from Kamada.Amir London, CEO of Israeli
biotech Kamada, was interviewed on ILTV Daily about Kamada’s protein
purification treatments for lung disease and rabies.Kamada’s Glassia is also being tested for
treating Type 1 diabetes, GVHD and the rejection of bone marrow and lung
transplants.

The first kidney dialysis for Sierra
Leone.In
2012, MASHAV - Israel Foreign Ministry’s agency for international development
cooperation donated the first-ever dialysis unit to Sierra Leone.Due to the Ebola outbreak, the African
country’s first dialysis treatment took place on Dec 15 this year, and a life
was saved.

Dual action treatment for aggressive
breast cancer.Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have made a breakthrough in
treating triple negative breast cancer. This cancer lacks three receptors that
serve as targets for anti-cancer drugs. However, inhibiting molecules EGFR and
PYK2 significantly reduces the size of tumors.

Blood warmer
prevents hypothermia.Two thirds of sufferers of blood loss trauma experience
hypothermia.Blood and fluids used in
transfusions must be warmed from storage temperatures (4 degrees C) to body
heat (37 degrees C). Israeli startup QinFlow’s Warrior portable system does
just that – faster than any alternative system.It recently received US FDA approval.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdelVHvOqBE

Saving lives together.(TY Hazel) The normally
anti-Israel UK Independent has run a feature on Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek
hospital, highlighting that it appoints whoever is best qualified for the job,
regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion.Also, critically injured perpetrators of attacks are treated before less-injured
victims.

The world’s most inclusive army.Omer Lahat’s cerebral palsy did
not hold him back from graduating high school with honors. His dream was to
serve in the IDF through the “Special in Uniform” program. Lahat then became
the program’s first-ever wheelchair-bound participant.

Greek patriarch praises
Israel’s freedom of worship.(TY Hazel) At the annual Christmas reception
hosted by Israeli President Rivlin for spiritual and lay leaders of Christian
communities in Israel, Greek Patriarch Theophilos III said: "We take the
opportunity of this holiday gathering to express our gratitude to you for the
firmness with which you defend the freedoms that lie at the heart of this
democracy - especially the freedom of worship...” http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Christians-laud-freedom-of-worship-in-Israel-476715

Most Arabs say life is good in Israel.(TY Bennett) The 2016
Israeli Democracy Index, produced by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and
Policy Research, reveals some interesting facts.55% of Israeli Arabs identify themselves as
“proud citizens”.Also, 60.5% of Israeli
Arabs categorize their personal situation as “Good” or “Very good” and another
31% as “Not bad”.https://en.idi.org.il/press-releases/11986

Huge rise in Arabs students at Technion.Just 12 years ago, only 7%
of students at Israel’s Technion were Arab.Today, it is 20% - not due to any lowering of entrance standards, but
thanks to its NAM program - a 10-month “boot camp” in math, physics, English
and Hebrew.And it is all paid for by Jewish
philanthropy.

Israeli charity helps disabled
Arab-Israeli kids.I’ve reported many times
previously on Israeli charity Beit Issie Shapiro (BIS) and its work with disabled
children.Here is a recent article about
Beit Issie’s Sindian Center in Kalansua, a 22,000-population Arab city in
central Israel.

Israel to treat Aleppo wounded.(TY Hazel) Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his government to extend medical
assistance to Syrians injured in the latest round of fighting, especially those
from the embattled city of Aleppo. Israeli hospitals will treat wounded women
and children, and non-combatant men.

Israeli aid workers in Iraq.(TY Hazel) Israeli aid
workers are part of an official IsraAID mission to assist Yazidi refugees
living in displaced person’s camps in Dohuk province, in northern Iraq. One of
the priorities is women who have suffered at the hands of the brutal Islamic
State group.The video is from 2015.

Israelis arrange free surgery for
Ethiopian boy. Lori and Doron Bacher from Ra’anana
met Nobel Habib in his village in Ethiopia. Nobel could hardly walk due to
birth defects. Through Israeli non-profit Ezra LeMarpeh, the Bachers brought
Nobel to Israel and then to Boston for surgery to correct his bone deformities.

A handy bag for
wheelchair users.Israeli startup Handy Bag designs and manufactures bags are easy for
wheelchair users to access their belongings unaided. Founder Yair Zur was inspired
by his wheelchair-bound parents – one a war veteran and one with polio. Yair
raised his goal of $20,000 on Kickstarter

Whatever happened to the Ash Poopie?Newsletter readers back
in Oct 2011 may remember that Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Oded
Shoseyov invented a device for turning dog waste into ash. Israel’s Paulee
CleanTec is building the device and its innovative technology into eco-friendly
commercial products.

A novel travel guide.Israeli startup “Books on
Map” provides readers with virtual tours through a city’s streets by way of
novels that reference that city.Combining library, treasure hunt and social network, it services Paris,
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Books on Map won the recent City of Paris tourism app
competition. http://nocamels.com/2016/12/literary-voyage-app-books-on-map/

Robotics in China.(TY The
Tower and Bennett) As predicted previously (Oct 2015)
the Sino-Israeli Robotics Institute was inaugurated during the second
Sino-Israeli Robotics Summit in Guangzhou, China. The 4,800sqm robotics
incubator includes exhibition and demo area, innovation lab, training center
and corporate offices.

Find my stuff. Israeli startup GearEye uses a radio frequency ID (RFID) scanner,
tags, and an app to locate your important belongings.GearEye sought to raise $60,000 on
Kickstarter. It ended up with over
$500,000.

Airmule is now the Cormorant.I’ve reported previously (see here) about the Air
Mule flying car from Israel’s Urban Aeronautics (also known as Tactical
Robotics). Here is the latest on the Unmanned Air Vehicle – now renamed the
Cormorant. Its target for launching on the aviation market is now 2020.

The Sun is shining on the world’s
tallest solar tower.Here is the latest report on the progress of
the Ashalim project – building the world’s tallest solar tower, deep in the
Negev desert (see
here). When complete in 2018 it will generate 310 megawatts of power - enough
for 130,000 households, or roughly 5% of Israel’s population.

Exports boost economy.Exports of Israeli goods
rose 7.7% in November, raising Israel’s Composite State of the Economy index up
0.34% from its Oct value.Job vacancy
numbers also increased.Israel’s debt to
GDP ratio is now 60.4% - close to the Government’s 60% target for 2020.

Another delegation from Massachusetts.(TY Hazel) Massachusetts
Governor Charlie Baker has been leading a delegation of some 50 business and
academic leaders from Massachusetts to Israel.A similar visit in 2014 (see
here) resulted in several new partnerships and business deals.

$50 million fund for sustainable
agriculture.Copia Agro & Food is raising $50 million to expand its investments
in Israel. The fund aims to create technologies and products aimed at improving
the efficiency and sustainability of the food chain and decrease the adverse
effects of agriculture on the environment.

Skies open for Elbit system.The US Federal Aviation
Authority (FAA) has issued a new regulation allowing planes to land in
difficult vision conditions if the pilot has special accessory systems. The
announcement has raised interest in the ClearVision system from Israel’s
Elbit.- the first system to comply with the new rules.

Chinese $50 million fund to invest in
Israel.CreditEase
China, one of the world’s largest microcredit and wealth management firms, is
raising a new $50 million fund to invest in Israeli smart manufacturing, Artificial
Intelligence, and Augmented Reality technology. The
group’s 2015 Israeli investment fund raised $32 million.

Competition to promote insurance
technology.Jerusalem
Venture Partners and AXA Strategic Ventures have launched the InsurTech Israel
Competition, to find groundbreaking companies in the field of InsurTech” for
the changing insurance world. The winner will receive a $1 million investment
and other business support.

Tel Aviv rooftop farm is a growing
business.(TY
Hazel) I reported previously (Aug
2015) about Green in the City – a 100 sqm farm on the roof of Tel Aviv’s
Dizengoff Center. The farm is now 750 sqm, produces 10,000 heads of lettuce per
month, grows 17 different varieties of greens and herbs and even a banana tree.

Protecting the Dutch army.Israel Military Industries
will supply the Dutch army with its Iron Fist light active defense system for
armored personnel carriers (APCs). The Dutch army is the first NATO country to adopt
active defense technologies for its armored units.

More partners for
Mobileye.Israel’s Mobileye is working with luxury car maker Lucid Motors to
enable autonomous driving capability on Lucid vehicles. Mobileye will provide the
primary compute platform, including cameras, radar and lidar sensors, software
and algorithms. Mobileye is also partnering with Dutch autonomous vehicle
technology company HERE, to enhance road positioning awareness.

Israeli desert (but not dessert) wine.In Israel’s Negev Desert, the
hot daytime sun and cool nights are ideal for vineyards to produce superb
quality wines.And in the extreme dry
conditions, there are no pests, so no pesticides are required.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOg40xLyP-Y

CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

$50 million Arts
Campus for Jerusalem.(TY Janglo)
A 2.5 acre $50 million Jerusalem Arts Campus is planned to open in 2020. 650
students will attend one of four new schools – Nisan Nativ Acting Studio, Sam
Spiegel Film and Television School, the School of Visual Theater and the Center
for Middle Eastern Music.

Vibe Israel’s Wellness Tour.Vibe Israel brings
mega-bloggers to Israel to see how different the country is from that portrayed
in the global media.The latest tour
brought four “healthy food” bloggers with over 4 million followers.They were most impressed with Israelis,
Israeli cooking ingredients and the Dead Sea.

Natalie Imbruglia concert.Australian popstar Natalie Imbruglia
is heading to the Mann Auditorium Tel Aviv for a concert on 1st March.
Natalie became world-wide famous at the end of the ’90s with her hit “Torn”,
followed by the album “Left of the middle” which sold over 7 million copies.

New water park for Eilat.(TY Janglo)
The City of Eilat had approved the building of a new 20-dunam water park on the
site of the old Texas Ranch.Luna Water
Eilat is expected to have over 30 water attractions including a wave pool,
25-meter water slide and a shopping area. It will cater for around 3,500
people.

Chanukah coin revealed
in Jerusalem.Israeli archaeologists have found a bronze coin from the Hasmonean era,
during conservation work on the Tower of David in Jerusalem after recent
storms. The coin bears the head of Antiochus 1V Epiphanes – the Syrian-Greek
ruler of Judah who was defeated by the Maccabees in 168 BCE.

Ancient menorah
engraving discovered.Hikers exploring a water cistern in the
Judean hills discovered a rare engraving of a seven-branch menorah in the chalk
bedrock walls.It has a base with three
feet, portraying the menorah that stood in the Jerusalem Temple during the
Second Temple period.

Hasmonean bowl
discovered.A
2,100-year-old stone bowl engraved with a rare Hebrew inscription – “Hyrcanus”
- dating to the Hasmonean period was discovered during excavations by the Israel
Antiquities Authority in the Givʽati Parking Lot at Jerusalem’s City of David.Hyrcanus was a common name of the time.

Evidence for the
Kingdom of David.(TY Janglo)
Yehuda Kaplan, the curator of the Bible Lands Museum, explained to Arutz Sheva
the significance of an ancient city which was unearthed in the Elah Valley near
Beit Shemesh.The city is over 3,000
years old, and is one of the oldest known urban centers to use sophisticated
Judean architecture.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3fYlVG9vEA

Archaeologists find 3800-year-old clay
thinker.Israeli archaeologists have discovered a unique clay figure, mounted
atop a ceramic vessel, in the central Israel town of Yehud. The head of the
figure rests on its hand as if in a state of reflection, similar to the pose of
the famous 19th century sculpture “The Thinker” by Rodin.

The Jerusalem education center of
StandWithUs.International pro-Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs has an Israel
Education Center in the heart of Jerusalem.The center features up-to-date information and resources for visitors,
sessions and tours to counter misinformation about Israel.

Hotel owner leaves $2 million to
employees.Gilbert
Luzon, owner of the King Solomon Hotels in Jerusalem and Tiberias, passed away
in 2016.In his will, he left his
ex-employees $1,000 for each year of service.Even staff washing dishes received $20,000.In a TV interview, one man replied. “What can
I say? It is a blessing.”

An educational legacy.(TY Sharon) David Fischman lost his entire family
in the Holocaust but overcame his nightmares to help establish future Israeli
economists, lawyers and political scientists. His estate has funded 71
scholarships with several beneficiaries presenting at Jerusalem’s E. David
Fischman Scholarship Conference.